The Southern Highlands Community Foundation (SHCF) has awarded over $105,000 dollars in grants to 12 local community groups.
The granting program aims to support grassroots initiatives that nurture connectedness and target areas of need in the Southern Highlands community.
Nicole Smith, Chair of the SHCF said, “Community Grants are an important way we can act on our objective to ‘give where we live’ and we know that they will make a significant difference to the long term wellbeing of our community”.
A total of 12 grants have been awarded as part of round one, with some examples of the initiatives being supported below:
Challenge Southern Highlands Cafe – a unique facility to help people with disabilities acquire
hospitality skills to develop their confidence and grow their career opportunities.
Harbison Retirement Village – new furniture and equipment to create comfortable environments to nurture interconnectedness and strengthen bonds among residents, carers, and families.
Bridges for Learning – a program to help families with the assessment costs for children requiring developmental and diagnostic assessments to avoid educational isolation.
Penrose Village Hall – with the new Village Hall now complete, SHCF funding will help to provide furniture and furnishings to create a multipurpose event space.
House of Faith & Love – provides essential food aid as well as community outreach and support, the SHCF grant will go towards raising the profile and reach of the organisation.
“It’s a privilege for the SHCF to be able to support these organisations, projects and initiatives and we
can’t wait to see the impact that our 2024 grants will have.” Nicole said.
The next SHCF granting round opens on July 1st with applications closing on August 30th 2024.
The SHCF is seeking grant applications for initiatives that support health and welfare, education, families,
youth and aged care, community engagement, environmental projects and programs that support
first nations people and culture.