The Perth Wildcats don't just focus on being the best performing team in the National Basketball League, but everyone involved at the club knows the importance of being an active member of the community.

As of the end of January of this year, the Wildcats have completed 226 community appearances since July and that is on the back of the 260 that the club participated in for the financial year of 2010/11.

That is a remarkable achievement from everyone involved in the community work that the club does right from Player and Community Development Manager Katie Reed to the players and coaching staff that get out and about in the WA community.

It is far from just school visits involved in the community work as well. While visiting primary schools, high schools, community schools, Christian schools and Catholic schools is all part of the Perth Wildcats' community program, it far from makes up all of it.

The school visits involve the players taking a group of kids and run them through clinics and drills, but also talk to them about their life experiences as a basketball player, as a professional athlete and try to give some good advice to the youngsters, and even share some stories along the way as well.

There are also numerous hospital visits conducted throughout the year including the Starlight Foundation at Princess Margaret Hospital. That is a favourite among the players and the kids in the hospital alike.

Then there visits to Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, Murdoch University and the University of Western Australia.

And of course the Perth Wildcats Engage School Holiday Camps that continue to be a popular way for kids to spend some time on their holidays with their heroes from the Wildcats.

There has also been appearances at local basketball associations, Camp Quality, Kidz Sportz Club, the Midnight Basketball program and as ambassadors for the National Year of Reading program among numerous other work in the community of Western Australia.

The players of the Wildcats have complete buy in to the work in the community as well and that is a large part of why it is so popular and successful. The positivity and energy the players put in make sure that every member of the community they visit becomes instantly a fan for life of the club.

Wildcats big man Matt Knight is now in his second season in Perth and like the rest of the playing group, he takes great pride in the fact that they are out in the community so much throughout the year and that they are having such a positive influence on the people of WA.

"We find it very enjoyable to get out there amongst our fans and kids," Knight said.

"They love when we walk into their school and they go 'The Wildcats are here, the Wildcats are here!' Even just by spending an hour with us you can tell that it really excites them and the players love getting out there. We really do.

"It's an hour a day for a lot of the visits and they look up to us. It's a chance for us to give back to the community. They support us with what we do on the basketball court and it's a chance for us to say thank you."

Knight is also currently finishing his studies to become a teacher so his work with the community appearances as part of the Wildcats is something he makes sure he takes seriously. And it provides a stark contrast to his first years in the NBL with the West Sydney Razorbacks and Sydney Spirit.

"When I was in Sydney, we did virtually nothing in the community. There was probably one promo a year so it's obviously very different here in Perth. I had heard about it before I signed with the Wildcats and I enjoy it," he said.

"I want to be a teacher so for me it provides a chance to get used to working with kids and to get out and talk to schools, and help build up some relationships. It's something that I'm glad we do as being part of the Wildcats. When you see the kids enjoying themselves as well you know it's all worthwhile."

The other thing that Knight and the Wildcats players really enjoy about the community work is the fact that there are so many different aspects to it, and that it provides such variety.

"It's not all just school work either. We get to go to different functions, we have camps and it's not just about school visits," he said.

"A lot of guys have got to go to functions where they get to meet a lot of different people and it all helps with networking and that entire sort of thing. You only play your sport for a certain amount of time so it's always good to set yourselves up for after that."

One recent community appearance that Knight took part in struck a chord with him as well. He has always had a place in his heart for special needs children and wants to work with them once his basketball career is over.

The Australian Red Cross run an intensive care program for special needs children and each holidays hold a camp, so Knight was only too happy to go along and take part.

"I got a chance a little while ago to work with some special needs kids at an overnight camp," Knight said.

"I have a special place in my heart for special needs kids and it's something that I have always wanted to be involved with after basketball. When you see them smile it just makes you realise how lucky you really are, and it makes it all worthwhile."