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Who we help

The Foundation is focused on enabling community organisations to deliver real and tangible benefits to those most in need across regional NSW.

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Supporting the good work in our community

There are a lot of good people doing a lot of good things in our community. From funding youth mentoring and disability programs, to mental health funding, we provide community grants for important projects across regional NSW. 

Since 2003 the Foundation has delivered more than $17.5 million in grants to enable more than 400 important community projects and initiatives to benefit those most in need.

Camp Quality launches Australia’s first app for kids with cancer with our $100,000 grant.

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Next funding round closes soon.

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Where did the grants go?

  • young people 45% Improved life outcomes for young people through early intervention, education, remediation and mentoring
  • social outcomes 23% Better social wellbeing outcomes through training, education and networking
  • health and wellbeing 32% Better health outcomes through education, awareness, research, equipment or resources

Recent Beneficiaries

Each year the Foundation provides over $1.5 million in grants to eligible charities and community organisations for projects, initiatives and programs which meet our funding criteria and address important community issues that the Foundation has identified as key focus areas.

Batyr

Batyr@School

Region - Central West

Since 2011 batyr has engaged 67,000 students around the country in a peer-to-peer format that has proven to be a successful model to engage, educate, and empower young people to recognise mental ill health, speak up about mental illness, and seek help when they need it.

The Foundation’s funding of $50,000 will allow the expansion of batyr’s program into NSW’s Central West. In 2018 up to 10 young people will be trained to share their story and deliver vital educational information to almost 2,000 students from 12 high schools in a fun, safe, and engaging way. 


CAPS

Safe Children, Safe Families

Region - Hunter, Central Coast

Safe Children, Safe Families aims to reduce the risk of abuse, improve social competence and emotional maturity, and provide education and information for parents, early childcare educators and their children. It is the only evidence-based program in Australia that improves the emotional and social intelligence of children, particularly in recognising emotions and identifying unsafe situations.

Safe Children, Safe Families involves a three-part education model delivered in early-childhood learning centres to children, parents and educators to increase the capacity of children and their families to identify and avoid potential abuse.

The Foundation’s grant of $88,000 will enable the expansion of Safe Children, Safe Families into the Hunter and Central Coast regions. The program will be delivered directly to 500 families with children aged 3-5 years and their childcare educators at early learning centres. The funding will also be used to create an online version of the program targeting regional and remote areas using film, web resources and a webinar to support delivery to regional communities with an initial target of a further 20,000 families in the Hunter and Central Coast regions.


Diabetes NSW & ACT

As1 Schools Program

Region - Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast, Northern Rivers, Central West, New England

Diabetes NSW’s As1 Schools Program will use Schools Training Workshops and As1 Health Resource Kits to deliver better health outcomes and social well-being for young people with Type 1 Diabetes. 

Type 1 Diabetes is a non-preventable, auto-immune condition that generally appears in childhood and, in NSW, there is a 40% hospitalisation rate for children under the age of 15 with the disease.

The As1 Schools Program will provide training to ensure that children with Type 1 Diabetes are safe and healthy at school and have a reduced risk of complications or an emergency situation by equipping teachers and childcare workers with the necessary knowledge to manage the risks and complications associated with Type 1 Diabetes.

The Foundation’s grant of $39,246 will facilitate six workshops; one in each of the Foundation’s operating regions. Additionally, the support will provide funding for 200 As1 Health Resource Kits—enough to supply each young person expected to be diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in our area in 2018.


FIRSTCHANCE

Building Blocks Library

Region - Hunter

For the past 40 years Firstchance has provided early childhood intervention and school aged programs for children with disabilities (0-9 years). Firstchance’s philosophy is that parents and carers are the most important teachers of their children and it’s important to share expertise with families so they can continue to make progress outside the therapy environment.

Play provides opportunities to promote skills in all areas of children’s development. Through play, children learn about themselves, about others, about how things work and about their world; they experience challenges, frustrations, success and the joy of mastery.

This Building Blocks initiative, majority funded with $39,246 from the Foundation, will establish an equipment and resource library for children with a disability or developmental delay. Supporting the 450 children serviced by Firstchance, items in the library will be a mix of specialised and general equipment designed to aid the development of intellectual, motor, and personal and social skills. Like any library, the items can be used during a therapy session, or can be loaned out to support programs at home.


HealthWISE

Dementia Carer Support Project

Region - New England

The Dementia Carer Support Project has been developed to support people who are caring for a person living with dementia. Carers are often overwhelmed and vulnerable to depression by the situation they find themselves in. They often don’t know where to go for help or may not have enough regular contact with health professionals who can offer expert advice and education. 

With funds of $33,055 from the Foundation, the Dementia Carer Support Project will develop a series of locally-produced short films for carers that will provide practical advice from local health professionals on how to manage various scenarios and situations that commonly occur when caring for someone with dementia. 

The films will be made available online and via USB (for those who don’t have a reliable internet connection).


House with No Steps

Warners Bay respite

Region - Hunter

House with No Steps delivers services to 3,200 people with disability across the eastern seaboard. The Warners Bay respite service has recently received requests for respite support from people with high and complex support needs. While the respite house is currently equipped to support people with high physical needs, it is currently unable to support people who are unable to sit upright for showering.

This funding of $8,620 from the Foundation will allow the Warners Bay respite to purchase a shower trolley, meaning that people with complex support needs will no longer be required to stay in a nursing home for respite purposes.


HMRI

Face Diagnosis Project

Region - Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast, Northern Rivers, Central West, New England

An estimated 70% of children with an intellectual disability remain undiagnosed. Of these, 30 to 50% have associated skull and facial changes and when in a recognisable pattern this is referred to as a syndrome. The Face Diagnosis Project funded by a grant of $143,630 from the Foundation will create an innovative face-matching database that will reduce the time for and improve the accuracy of diagnosis, and facilitate intellectual disability gene discovery.

Using advanced facial recognition technology—originally developed for policing, counter-terrorism, and military applications—parents, doctors, and geneticists can access a secure and encrypted portal to upload images and information about their child. After comparing this information with other children around the world, a swift diagnosis may be achieved. This will enable effective treatment and/or therapy for the condition, as well as reduce possible need for expensive DNA testing to determine the condition. 


MMAD

MMAD Intimate Podcast

Region - Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast, Northern Rivers, Central West, New England

MMAD, a NSW Central Coast-based charity, provides creative support to help young people overcome challenges such as homelessness, destructive patterns of behaviour, exclusion from school, family breakdown, drug and alcohol dependency, unemployment and reoffending.  MMAD’s goal is to break negative cycles and empower young people to go on and make their own difference within the community.

The Rhyme and Reason Podcast received $48,560 from the Foundation to enable MMAD to reach young people who are unable to access the MMAD programs due to location or other constraints. The 12-month pilot program will take the core content of MMAD's successful on-the-ground programs and release a podcast each month, which will be available to community radio, organisations such as juvenile justice and community youth groups, and the general public via social media and download.

Additionally, the MMAD Intimate Podcast will enable the launch of a Central Coast-based youth training program that will teach valuable employment skills to participants in areas such as sound production, radio and journalism.

NB: this grant will bring the total amount donated by the Foundation to MMAD to $189,260 (since 2011).


Nautilus

NSC School Bus

Region - Mid North Coast

Nautilus Senior College (NSC) based in the Port Macquarie region aims to offer all eligible young people the chance to complete their school education; including those whose lives may be complicated, challenging, or require a particular understanding in order to achieve success. 

The school currently offers classes for students in years 9 and 10 and provides the opportunity for students unsuited to mainstream education the opportunity to enter year 10 and complete the Record of School Achievement. Additionally, the school has a strong focus on Vocational Education and Training to provide the students with a nationally accredited qualification that may lead to employment or future study.

This $44,000 grant from the Foundation will provide the funds for the school to purchase a bus that can be used to transport students to and from school, take them on excursions, and transport the students to training and employment opportunities.


PCYC

Food for success

Region - Hunter

Funding of $62,500 from this Foundation grant will be used to refurbish PCYC Windale’s commercial kitchen. When completed the kitchen will be used to conduct living skills and hospitality training programs for young people, the unemployed, and disability groups.

The refurbished kitchen will provide a space for food preparation and catering for PCYC venue-users hiring the facility. It will also support the well-established 'Friday Free' program attended by approximately 50 children and young people from the local area who may not receive adequate nutrition at home.

NB: the Foundation has provided more than $500,000 to PCYC in the past 10 years.


RED Inc

Little RED Records

Region - Northern Rivers

RED Inc. is a community organisation that works with people with disabilities to enhance their wellbeing.

The Lismore-based RED Inc. will start Little RED Records with this grant of $19,982. Little RED Records will create an accessible, affordable and mobile recording studio where aspiring musicians with disabilities can access professional-level recording facilities. The equipment will reside in RED Inc’s studio but will be portable so that recording opportunities can be offered anywhere and anytime, including  at youth events, remote communities, and at home for people with anxiety disorders. 

Users will be able to record a radio-ready recording, empowering young musicians with a disability and bolstering their self-esteem and confidence to participate in their local community. Little RED Records will also provide work experience and opportunities for young people from RED Inc. to participate in the recording process.


Learn About Driving Skills

Young Driver Education Facility

Region - Northern Rivers

The Learn About Driving Skills Driver Education Facility will be a purpose-built facility at Lismore, funded with $110,000 from the Foundation, to learn safe driving skills in the classroom and in a practical environment. Targeting students from 30 high schools across the region in the most at-risk age bracket of road fatalities, 15- to 19-year-olds, the Driver Education Facility will include a track that provides a range of road conditions such as wet roads, corners, and roundabouts. The aim of the Facility is to equip young drivers with safe driving behaviours, reducing the occurrence of road crashes and fatalities.

SLS

Rookie and Youth Leadership Development Programs

Region - Central Coast

The Foundation’s grant of $33,500 will provide support to approximately 500 13 to 17-year-old junior life savers across the 15 Central Coast patrolled beaches.

This grant will add to the support already provided to Surf Life Saving Central Coast by Newcastle Permanent.

The Rookie Program is delivered across three major streams: a mentor program with experienced lifesavers; events and activities for Rookies away from the beach designed to build appreciation for and understanding of community; and recognition through annual awards.

The Youth Leadership Program will engage 30 Rookies across a range of theory sessions and physical activities that challenge the individual and educate them in essential life skills, arming them with some of the skills required to be future community leaders.

Major partner youth activities – NPBS. 


Charitable Foundation Beneficiaries Logo

Beat Cancer @ Work

Region - Hunter and Central Coast

The Cancer Council NSW’s Beat Cancer @ Work program was launched in late 2016 and to date more than 2,000 workers have participated in the program that covers three main pillars: provide information about cancer; deliver a preventative cancer message to participants; and offer an overview of the supportive care measures the Cancer Council can provide to assist and support those with cancer, their families and carers. 

This grant of $32,912 will be used to purchase a vehicle that will be exclusively used to support the delivery of the program in the Foundation’s geographical footprint. Based in Newcastle, the vehicle will travel throughout the Hunter and Central Coast regions, and further afield as demand for the Beat Cancer @ Work program grows.

NB: the Foundation has previously donated $237,000 to Cancer Council NSW.


Vision Australia

Braille embossers – raising the dots

Region - Hunter

Despite technological advances, braille is still commonly used in the blind community and children with vision loss are exposed to braille as early as possible as it is an important tool in developing literacy and special concepts.

Vision Australia’s local offices regularly translate important information into braille for local clients. They also provide a translation service for local businesses that wish to provide information books, menus, and flyers in braille format. Without access to effective braille embossers, Vision Australia is not able to provide these services.

This grant of $22,650 will provide the necessary funds for Vision Australia to purchase three state-of-the-art braille machines to be located at the Newcastle, Coffs Harbour and Lismore offices. These machines will allow the local Vision Australia teams to actively promote braille awareness in the local communities. 

NB: Vision Australia has previously received funding to the value of $151,398.


Youth off the Streets

Cycle of Courage - Central Coast

Region - Central Coast

The Cycle of Courage program is a dedicated program that uses cycling activities to increase health outcomes and community engagement for at-risk youth. The program provides a weekly cycling group, offering a meaningful after-school activity. The program aids youth to take ownership of their own health and well-being and encourages them to take part in cycling challenges of up to 1,000km rides to support charitable causes.

Youth Off The Streets will use this $17,680 grant to purchase six new racing bikes, uniforms and riding gear for the participants, as well as cover the fees of a training course in bike mechanics and cover the entry fees for the planned charity rides for 2018. 


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