When he was a bit younger, Archie Macwhirter, like a lot of kids his age, was a keen collector of footy cards.

These days, though, Archie's collecting habit has changed slightly. It still revolves around footy players, but his aim is to meet every player on the Western Bulldogs list.

When I caught up with Archie earlier this year, he was about halfway to reaching that goal. At that stage he had ticked 21 men's players off the list.

Archie is passionate about the Bulldogs, but for him it's a relatively new passion, one that has come about through his involvement in the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation’s Youth Leadership Project Program.

After seeing a poster advertising the program at his local high school in Footscray, Archie decided to see what it was all about. He signed up, came to the club and joined a group of 30 other young people from the inner west, along with over 80 others from across Victoria’s West in a six-month Leadership Program that helped him learn a host of new skills.

You wouldn't know it from chatting with him, but Archie has what is known as 'slow processing speed', a condition (diagnosed when he was in Year 9) that means at times he takes just a little longer than others might to comprehend what he is reading or hearing.

"It's like, you can give me a menu (or a set of instructions) and I might miss a step. It makes your brain slower in different ways."

While the condition can have its drawbacks, Archie can also see advantages. "It's helped with my decision making", he says, because it forces him to stop and consider. That's perhaps something that the rest of us could benefit from doing.

Archie has now completed the Youth Leadership Project, and earlier this year he spoke to the new inductees into the program, sharing his experiences and giving them an idea of what to expect.

But Archie's Western Bulldogs Community Foundation involvement hasn't stopped. He has moved on to become part of the 'Bark for Youth' Advisory Group. ‘Bark for Youth’, established in 2021, is a youth advisory group made up of former Foundation program participants aged between 14-17.

Although Archie's stepdad is a "crazy" Bulldogs fan – "He yells at the television!" – Archie's love of the Dogs and AFL in general has taken hold only since he joined the Leadership Program.

Meeting some of the Bulldogs' finest on his first day of the program certainly helped. Archie's introduction that day included chats with Jamara Ugle-Hagan, Easton Wood, Mitch Wallis and Bailey Smith. That's enough to turn anyone into a rabid Doggies' fan!

Archie is keen to keep meeting as many Bulldogs players as he can, and he would love to meet coach Luke Beveridge, too. Sometimes he crosses paths with his heroes outside the club. While he was out walking his own dog, Alfred the beagle, Archie did just that: "I bumped into Tom Liberatore at the dog park."

The Western Bulldogs Community Foundation has certainly equipped Archie with some great life skills, which he has used at school and in his job with Reece plumbing. He even recently co-hosted the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation’s Youth Mental Health Panel Event.

As a fan of the reality TV show Survivor, Archie is not just surviving in life, but thriving. Archie's own spirit and energy have been a big part of that, but the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation youth programs have also been a key to his success.

Long may Archie be part of the club, and let's hope he achieves his aim of meeting every Bulldog on the AFL, AFLW and VFL list!