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Community Grants 2024 recipients
Each year we support our community groups and environment by helping make important projects possible through our Community Grants program. While we help to fund these projects, it’s our community groups who bring them to life – often with a team of passionate volunteers.
1st Beaumaris Sea Scouts
Healthy water activities
Sea Scouts Victoria provides adventurous programs for youth, teaching life skills and encouraging community participation.
Their project will purchase kayaks and snorkelling equipment to expand their water programs. This will allow young people, aged 5-25, to enjoy healthy water-based activities, fostering skills, confidence and appreciation for the environment.
Visit 1st Beaumaris Sea Scouts
African Women’s and Families Network
African Youth Resilience Project
African Women’s and Families Network deliver culturally appropriate support services to support the needs of women and families from local African-Australian refugee communities.
Their African Youth Resilience project will enable African-Australian young people (16-25) from refugee, disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds to build water-based skills and water-safe behaviours while building emotional and mental resilience.
Beaumaris Life Saving Club
Fit to Swim
Beaumaris Life Saving Club provide a safe environment to learn water skills, have fun, and train members in water safety and rescue techniques.
Their Fit to Swim project enables members of the club to complete swim testing and training in a pool environment. Children enrolled in the Nippers program will complete swimming and safety skills tests to make sure they can safely participate, whilst volunteer lifesavers re-qualify their fitness for the patrolling season.
Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation
On Country Forestry Garden Project
Integrating Aboriginal Cultural knowledge and practices such as ecological burning, reseeding, educational forestry gardens and pest plant control to conserve koala habitats. This collaborative project between Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation Group and Landcare Victoria will enhance biodiversity and engage community in conservation efforts to support koala habitat conservation in the Westernport Biosphere Reserve.
Casey North Community Information & Support Service
Stay on Track
Casey North Community Information and Support Service (CNCISS) provide support and information services and programs from qualified staff and trained volunteers.
The project will enable their ‘Stay on Track’ financial literacy resource to be translated from English into Dari, helping to reach the Afghan communities in the City of Casey, Cardinia Shire and Mornington Peninsula Shire. The resource offers financial literacy advice on budgeting, paying bills, banking services and how to avoid scams.
Didi Bahini Samaj Victoria (DBSV)
Know Water: Safety and Recreation
Didi Bahini Samaj Victoria connects Nepalese women and organises health and wellbeing activities to help break social isolation.
Their project will fund water safety and swimming lessons for 30 Nepalese women who never had the chance to learn water safety. This will provide them with not only essential skills but the confidence to go swimming and help look out for others.
FareShare Australia Incorporated
Biochar Initiative: Waste into Wellness
FareShare cooks rescued ingredients into nutritious meals for people in crisis, engaging thousands of volunteers in their kitchens and gardens. Healthy meals full of homegrown vegetables are distributed to approximately 120 charities across Victoria and benefit over one million people annually.
Their project will fund equipment to convert organic waste into biochar. A sustainable initiative that will enrich garden beds, reduce carbon emissions and improve overall meal quality.
First Peoples' Health and Wellbeing
Blak Fig Social Enterprise
First Peoples’ Health and Wellbeing is a registered charity and Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation providing culturally safe and trauma-informed healthcare through clinics in Frankston and Thomastown.
Their project will provide vocational training opportunities for local community through their new social enterprise training café ‘Blak Fig’ opening at their new clinic in Frankston. The project will support Aboriginal people facing barriers to employment to gain qualifications and mentoring in hospitality with an outcome to long-term employment.
Hillview Bunyip Aged Care
Rose garden and courtyard refurbishment
Hillview Bunyip Aged Care is a community-owned charity that aims to support and serve its elderly residents and families with dignity and respect.
COVID-19 restrictions prevented the residents from receiving visitors, so spending time in the gardens became a valuable source of stimulation. Their project will create an enhanced and accessible outdoor space for residents, families and visitors, improving liveability, mental health and wellbeing. The project will feature re-deveoped garden beds, paving, paths, handrails and a self-opening electric door.
Holy Trinity Anglican Kindergarten Hampton
Automated watering system
Holy Trinity Anglican Kindergarten in Hampton is a community kindergarten that fosters environmental awareness and encourages children, families and community to connect and care for our planet.
Their project will provide an automated watering system to keep their vegetable and indigenous garden green all year round. The project will help provide opportunities for children to grow, harvest, cook and eat fresh produce and learn about Australian native plants.
Visit Holy Trinity Anglican Kindergarten Hampton
John Pierce Centre
Access Auslan Projectors
The John Pierce Centre (JPC) support the needs and wellbeing of the elder deaf community through supportive programs, pastoral support, and opportunities for connections in their first language, Auslan.
Their project will help to procure Auslan Projectors to create interactive PowerPoint presentations that enable the accessible delivery of essential information, helping to support the knowledge and empowerment of the deaf community.
Visit John Pierce Centre
Kooweerup Regional Health Services
VET Horticulture Program
Kooweerup Regional Health Services provide health and community care to Melbourne’s outer south-eastern region and surrounding areas, with a community hub, garden and men’s shed located on the hospital grounds.
Their Vocational Education and Training (VET) Horticulture Program will help local high-school horticulture students gain practical experience in the community garden. Assisted by staff and Men’s Shed volunteers, students will learn how to sustainably manage diverse local plant life and gain skills in cropping, weed control, composting, germinating and planting, helping them pursue a career in horticulture. The grant will help fund additional equipment such as wheelbarrows, shovels, spades and rakes.
Management Committee Coonara Community House
Coonara Community Lunch
Coonara Community House fosters a supportive environment, encouraging personal confidence and community participation for vulnerable, socially isolated and financially stressed individuals.
Their project will support weekly community lunches, serving 60 meals each week. This will foster social connections and teach valuable skills to the community kitchen volunteers.
Moorooduc Primary School
Edible Native Garden
Moorooduc Primary School create a caring, engaging and inspiring environment where all students learn, and fulfil their potential and become life-long learners.
Their project will purchase and install a 22,000-litre water tank and pump to help cultivate a new edible native garden space at the school. The garden will incorporate native plants and traditional gardening methods to help students connect to nature.
Visit Moorooduc Primary School
Mornington Lifesaving, Swimming, Social and Youth Club
Mornington Lifesaving, Swimming, Social and Youth Club provide a safe beach environment, water safety and surf life saver training.
Their project will purchase nipper boards to ensure that all youth can engage in its surf sports programs for fun, fitness and water safety.
Moy-Yan Neighbourhood House
Women's Power Tool and Welding Workshops
Moy-Yan Neighbourhood House provide a positive, safe and inclusive environment for the Garfield community to connect and improve their health and social wellbeing through activities, programs, and support.
Their project will offer workshops for women of all ages and demographics to learn practical skills in welding, power tools, carpentry and household repairs. Grant funding will provide benches, workspaces, clamps, bench tools, heaters and air coolers. The upskilling project will help women to conduct various household maintenance tasks without the costs of tradespeople.
Mums Supporting Families in Need
‘Hamper of Hope’ to Families in Need
Mums Supporting Families in Need coordinate community donations to support families lacking basic daily needs.
Their project will provide 40 'Hampers of Hope' to families in crisis, containing essential items like pantry staples, kitchen, laundry and cleaning items. This will help families who have left family violence situations start again in the Bayside and Mornington Peninsula area.
National Trust of Australia (Victoria)
Healthy Water Community Program
The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) protects and conserves places of significance, inspiring community appreciation of heritage.
Their project will enable water quality monitoring at Rippon Lea Estate to manage aquatic weeds. Rippon Lea is recognised as a top 5 biodiversity hotspot within the City of Glen Eira and these weeds can reduce water quality, negatively affect fauna and flora and pose a risk to visitors. This will enhance the visitor experience and provide environmental education on integrated water management, benefiting the 60,000 annual visitors and the broader community.
Visit National Trust of Australia (Victoria)
Planetshakers Empower Limited
Empower Food Relief Project
Empower Australia operates five food relief centres (two in the south east), that support vulnerable individuals and empower them to become productive contributors to society.
Their project will improve food relief centres by streamlining food distribution to vulnerable groups by reducing wait times and improving accessibility with multilingual materials, tablets, TV’s and banners.
Visit Planetshakers Empower Limited
Rotary Club of Cranbourne
Water Wise Wallies
The Rotary Club of Cranbourne strives to improve the quality of life and educational opportunities to local primary and secondary schools with lower socio-economic status.
Their Water Wise Wallies project partners with Cranbourne West Primary School to deliver rainwater tanks and irrigation for the school vegetable garden This will educate students and parents about the water cycle, growing healthy food and keeping the garden green all year round through rainwater harvesting.
Transit Soup Kitchen and Food Support
Feeding Hope: Sustainable Kitchen project
Transit Soup Kitchen provide essential food and support to those facing hardship, serving 1500 people with free 3-course meals and fresh food and groceries three times a week.
Their Sustainable Kitchen project will upgrade the kitchen facilities with new stainless-steel benchtops, sinks and a water efficient commercial tap. This will increase the capacity of volunteers to prepare meals and meet the rising demand for food support.
Victorian College for the Deaf
Sustainable Shade for Urban Block
Victorian College for the Deaf is the only F-12 Bilingual/Bimodal School for Deaf children of its kind in Australia. They empower deaf children with an education that empowers them with choices in life.
Their project will install a custom-fit shade cloth for the greenhouse in the urban block garden. This will improve safety for students, growing conditions, support fresh food production for their Tradeblock Café and provide produce to the local community. Students will gain valuable horticultural skills and hands-on learning experiences.
