Community assistance donations are to be distributed to organisations across the Blue Mountains, as part of the Community Assistance Program 2023.
The donations, totalling $60,000 were endorsed at the Council Meeting on 27 June 2023 and will be distributed to 48 community groups.
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said: “The Community Assistance Program recognises the significant contributions community groups make to the quality of life and wellbeing for all here in the Blue Mountains and supports them in their continued endeavours.
“It is always a priority for Council to support the local organisations that do so much for our community,” Mayor Greenhill said.
The Community Assistance Program assists community organisations to provide a diverse range of activities and services that directly benefit and address the needs of local residents.
One initiative that has been supported by Council’s Community Assistance Program is Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Cooperative’s “Budget Boxes”.
The centre has seen an increase in the number of people seeking food assistance recently, including people who have never accessed help before.
The Budget Boxes not only contain filling and nourishing food that provide a week of cheap meals, but also recipe cards to give people ideas on how to make those meals.
Grant recipients for the 2023 program include:
Upper Mountains: Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre, Blackheath Kookaburra Kindergarten, Megalong Valley Community and Landowners Association, Mount Victoria Community Association, Blackheath Area Men’s Shed, Medlow Bath Residents Association, Rotary Club of Central Blue Mountains, Katoomba Leura Preschool Association, The Rotary Club of the Upper Mountains, Leura Garden Club, and Dance for Parkinson’s Australia.
Mid and lower Mountains: Hazelbrook Association Community, Lawson Community Preschool, Lyttleton Stores Co-operative, Springwood Community Garden, Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Co-operative, Glenbrook Little Athletics Club, and Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre.
Citywide (projects that have a focus on the broader Blue Mountains): CBCA (NSW Branch Inc) – Blue Mountains sub-branch, Blue Mountains Women’s Shed, Get Folked! Music and Dance Festival, Springwood Community Arts Centre, Blue Mountains Pipe Band, The Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society, Gateway Services, Cornerstone Community Care, Nepean Area Disabilities Organisation, Blue Mountains and Penrith Woodworking Club, Bub Hub Blue Mountains, Kunsang Yeshe Retreat Centre, Aikido NSW, Riverland Harmony Chorus, Greystanes Disability Services, Your Music, Mount Victoria & District Historical Society, Australian Parents for Climate Action, Academy Singers, Blue Mountains City Band, Blackheath Area Neighbourhood Centre, Blue Mountains Women’s Health & Resource Centre, Mountains Outreach Community Service, Belong Blue Mountains, RSPCA NSW Blue Mountains Volunteer Branch, Blue Mountains Bipolar Support Group, Blaxland Bugs, Thrive Services, Connect Child and Family Services, and Mountains Youth Services Team.
For more information on the annual grants program, go to bmcc.nsw.gov.au/grants
Image: Tonje Akerholt, Community and Family Worker at Springwood Neighbourhood Centre Inc, with an example of the Centre’s Budget Box and recipe card, an initiative that has been supported by Blue Mountains City Council.
