MOTHER HONOURS HER SONS LEGACY
Brody Wood Kenney, tragically passed in March 2022 and his grieving mother, Sharon Wood Kenney is proud of his legacy and launched the Brody (Wood) Kenney Cup - Djinda Yirra “stars Rising” NAIDOC football event held this week.
The initiative is attached to the Brody (Wood) Kenney sunshine legacy and Scholarship program to help children and families live their best life.
“ We will give back to the community with scholarships aimed at helping people make good choices and participate in living their best life. We want Brody's passion for setting goals and achieving them to continue.
We want to make a difference in the life of young people & families, whether it be for school, study, sport, health, or work opportunities; sometimes, all you need is a helping hand.”
“The cup that they’re putting on for us in Brody’s memory … I think it's an amazing opportunity for his friends and us as a family to gather together as part of our healing, she said.
“ I think that's all we can do,” she said. “It’s pretty hard, I just wish Brody was here with us.”
Brody played 150 games in junior football at Ocean Ridge and in 2019 he was club caption.
He represented the WA State 15s squad in Byron Bay in 2015, winning the state championships. In 2020, Brody joined the WA Police School-based Cadetship.
“I feel like he validated me as a mum, I’ve got four kids, I love them all but my boy just lit up a room.”
“ From when he was a kid my husband always said you can’t see past him, I said why would I want to? He doesn’t do anything wrong,” she said.
“He was definitely a lad, he was pretty loud and he liked his music and stuff but he was just a great young man, he’s inspired us and pushed us to want to be our best.”
Brody was also the Inaugural Winner of the Bill Dempsey Football Leadership Award and best player for the Nicky Winmar Cup.
“I’ve just come back from being in the bush for a couple of days, I get up every day and keep going, it's horrible, I feel like I’m drowning.”
“I just have to show up every day for the rest of my family, I just have to do him proud,” she said.
“I’ve got so much work to do, we want to push out this training with the police in his honor, just honoring him every way I can, and we just hold each other closely, that's all we can do.
“It’s really sad that we have to miss him forever but one good thing about our culture is we learn - Until we meet again.”
You can give towards the scholarship here GoFundMe
“This is just the beginning of Brody's legacy. The website is under construction! It will feature more details about community engagement, how to get involved & application process for scholarships.”