Courtney Sippel, Farm Angels Ambassador
22 August, 2024
What started as an initiative to lift fielding efforts and morale, has now led to Courtney Sippel becoming an ambassador for Farm Angels.
“We were all a bit down in the dumps and weren’t fielding very well as a team,” says Courtney, so the Brisbane Heat WBBL side decided to give themselves extra motivation to stay switched on in the field.
Whoever was judged as best in the field for each game was able to elect a charity of their choice to receive $50. When Courtney won, she wanted her money to go towards supporting Aussie farmers and rural communities, something close to her heart. So, her $50 went to Farm Angels.
She thought there might be something more there for her and Farm Angels, so with the help of her manager, she reached out to the organisation and became an ambassador.
“Farm Angels basically go around to the farmers that are struggling,” she says. “It usually begins with an anonymous tip -- from one of their mates or neighbours who reaches out and says this person’s actually struggling, they might need a bit of help, so they offer gift baskets and stop in and talk to the farmers for a bit and just see how they’re going.”
Courtney says that saying thank you to farmers for what they do for the country, is a powerful message.
“This is a thank you, not just charity that we’re giving out.”
With her own family having a farm, Courtney has seen first-hand what it’s like to go through hardship as a farmer.
“My family went through the drought back in 2019, and we really struggled,” she says.
“We stopped dairying for a couple of months, and we only had 14 cattle in the herd. It got quite sad for a lot of us during that period, because we didn’t know what was going to happen.”
‘Flanno for a Farmer’ is an initiative run by Farm Angels to raise awareness for farmers that are struggling.
On Friday 23 August, Farm Angels encourage you to wear a flanno to show your support.
“To have more people knowing what’s going on, and for people to ask the question of why is everyone wearing a flanno? Most farmers wear a flanno, so it’s something connecting people that know, the farmers know people are supporting them and they know they’re not alone.”
As well as wearing a flanno, Farm Angels are also encouraging people to donate, and Courtney has her own team that you can donate directly to:
