Artwork created by Point Cook’s Veranika Yarshevich has helped to raise $1.6 million for Little Athletics Australia.
In 2018, Veranika – who was then aged 13 – was one of 14 school children who won a national Coles competition to have their designs featured on material shopping bags sold at the supermarkets.
Coles donates 10 per cent from the sale of each bag to community causes across the nation.
Chiller bags with Veranika’s artwork, which includes colourful avocadoes, have raised funds for more than 376 Little Athletics centres in the past three years.
Overall, sales of the Coles bags have raised more than $5 million for causes including Guide Dogs Australia, Clean Up Australia and SecondBite.
Veranika said she felt “pretty good” to have helped raise the funds.
“I expected the bags to do well as an initiative, but I certainly didn’t expect to raise $5 million,” she said.
“I feel pretty proud when I see people carrying my artwork in the streets or at Coles, but it’s a strange feeling to walk past someone that has something you designed and they don’t even know it.”
Veranika is now studying Digital Media Technologies at RMIT University and hopes to pursue a career in animation.
One of the organisations to benefit from Veranika’s chiller bags is the Werribee Little Athletics Centre.
The centre has received $2600 from Coles during the past two years to buy new laptops, a PA system and speakers.
Werribee Little Athletics’ president Rob de Wit said the money had helped provide “a safer and more efficient weekly program” for young athletes.
“It’s terrific to know that one of the bags were designed by a Wyndham resident – the bags have been a wonderful initiative for the local community,” Mr de Wit said.
