Each of the nine WAFL clubs has a nominated charity it will support throughout this year’s Carlton Draught WAFL Charity Challenge pre-season competition and the Thunder’s charity is Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation.

The Foundation’s token is to wear rainbow shoelaces, so each Thunder player and support staff will wear rainbow-coloured shoelaces throughout the pre-season competition as a reflection of their support for organ and tissue donation, transplant and awareness.

Victorian couple Kim and Allan Turner created Zaidee’s Rainbow Foundation in memory of their daughter, Zaidee, who suddenly and tragically died in 2004 at the age of seven after suffering a burst blood vessel in her brain.

Zaidee was one of only six children to donate organs and tissues nationally in 2004 and she was one of the youngest donors.

The donation of her organs and tissue resulted in the lives of up to seven others being enhanced or saved.

Thunder marketing manager Alana Portlock said she had seen the shoelaces but really did not know what they were for until she spoke to Allan Turner.

“He was so excited to have Peel Thunder on board and hearing his enthusiasm and plans really reiterated to me why we chose them,” Portlock said.

In a letter to the club Turner hoped people would become more aware of the importance for organ and tissue donation.

“I think your boys will be the most colourful of all teams at the same time have a very personal message – as Zaidee’s story is the only individual story on the list that I hope people will read and take not of your great awareness for organ and tissue donation,” it read.

“I should also say that every time we had a thunder storm, Zaidee would come outside I would hold her in my arms so tight and watch the lighting and listen to the thunder as we got wet standing in the backyard – we would then go and lay on her bedroom floor open the blinds and lay there until the storm moved off and every loud thunder we would go WOW that was a good one.