Four rural health services in NSW and VIC awarded grants

The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) has awarded $368,768 in grants to four community health organisations in rural, regional and remote New South Wales and Victoria to enhance the primary and preventative health service offering in their communities.

Funded through the Enhancing Country Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, these grants will help to fill identified gaps in rural health workforce support and development, and the provision of accessible health care in areas where services are limited. Regions that are benefiting from these grants include the smaller communities surrounding the service centres of Nowra, Wagga Wagga, Armidale and Dubbo in NSW and Kerang, Wedderburn and Harrow in Victoria.

Natalie Egleton, CEO of FRRR, said that the ECHO program has provided insights into the various challenges facing health services in rural communities, and the continuing inequity of service access and provision.

“There’s a real need for flexible funding of community-based primary and preventative health services in rural communities, so it’s fantastic to be able to support local health initiatives through the ECHO program and help fill some of these gaps. Projects like Northern District Community Health’s place-based Rural Health Matters initiative will address health needs, health inequities and service provision gaps across several rural Victorian communities,” Ms Egleton said.

“There are also significant workforce shortages and limited access to upskilling and professional development opportunities for rural health services. We are pleased to be able to support the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in NSW and Harrow Bush Nursing Centre in Victoria. With these grants, these organisations can now undertake staff training and improve professional development opportunities throughout a number of rural communities.

“We are also pleased support an initiative lead by the Services for Australian Rural & Remote Allied Health, which will work with selected rural communities in both NSW and Victoria, helping communities to build their own capacity to attract and support a long-term rural workforce in their regions.   

“This is the final round of the ECHO program, which was created thanks to a donation of just over $900,000 from Beyond Medical Education when they wound up. The program has highlighted the need for philanthropic support to help these local health services overcome health inequity in rural, regional and remote communities and we hope we can continue to help to fill these gaps,” Ms Egleton said.

Lynda Vamvoukis, former CEO of Beyond Medical Education, said that it is inspiring to see how Beyond Medical Education’s remaining funds have been used by groups to improve the local primary health care needs of the community.

“Building strong and sustainable relationships that support the health of these communities is critical. It has been rewarding to see this program support projects that foster this kind of long-term, health care provider collaboration,” said Ms Vamvoukis.

The four projects awarded grants this final round of the ECHO program are:

• Cerebral Palsy Alliance – Armidale, Dubbo, Nowra, Wagga Wagga, NSW – $80,000 – Improve access to, and delivery of services to people with a disability in rural communities by providing essential equipment, resources and training for rural therapists.
• Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health – NSW and VIC – $140,179 – Address persistent rural workforce shortages in small rural and remote towns in NSW and Victoria through an Attract, Connect, Stay project leveraging Rural Health Workforce Coordinators.
• Harrow Bush Nursing Centre – Harrow, VIC – $33,589 – Increase organisational capacity and improve patient care by upskilling the existing rural workforce and upgrading the primary care vehicle to safely transport emergency equipment.
• Northern District Community Health – Kerang, Wedderburn, VIC – $115,000 – Improve the current and emerging health needs for Buloke, Loddon and Gannawarra Shire residents through the delivery of a collaborative placed-based systems approach

The Pain Revolution, in conjunction with the University of South Australia, set out to establish a community-led health initiative to promote best-practice pain management services in country NSW and Victoria, by raising awareness of pain neurobiology and the use of a bio-psycho-social pain model of education and care.

If that all sounds quite complicated, these facts are simpler to understand, though not very easy to digest:

• One in five Australians lives with chronic pain. In those over the age of 65, this increases to 1 in 3.
• According to The Pain Revolution, persistent pain is a bigger disability burden on rural Australia than cancer and diabetes combined.
• It is the most common reason for early departure from the workforce, and a known risk factor for severe depression and suicide.

What’s more, access to pain management services is poor in rural communities, and most attempts to address the problem include ‘travelling health teams’ and ‘country visits’ from city health specialists. With GPs reporting that they have insufficient knowledge, skill and self-efficacy to deliver best practice for persistent pain patients, The Pain Revolution stepped in to design a sustainable program of training, mentoring and resourcing with a focus on local capacity building.

Founded in 2017, The Pain Revolution is a cross sector collaboration led by Professor Lorimer Moseley from within the School of Health Science at the University of South Australia. It also draws on expertise from others working in the field, holding strong partnerships with the National Rural Health Alliance, Pain Australia, Australian Pain Society, the Australian Physiotherapy Association and the Australian College of Sports & Exercise Physicians. Their collective aim is to embed the capacity to deliver best practice pain education and care within rural and regional communities, and they are doing this through the Local Pain Collectives (LPC) program.

Pain science is an area with lots of interesting research and developments; new and effective approaches have been identified to prevent and manage persistent pain, placing emphasis on active approaches (movement and learning based) rather than passive ones (drugs, massage and surgery). These new self-management approaches can seem counter-intuitive amongst health professionals unless they have an understanding of contemporary pain science. International guidelines now universally recommend education as first-line treatment, but this is rarely delivered effectively as part of usual care.

The Pain Revolution determines where to target their efforts by assessing which rural and regional communities are flagged by the Australian Health Atlas as having excessive opioid prescriptions, back fusions and knee replacements. In response, the LPC program aims to upskill GPs and allied health professionals in best practise pain education and care within these communities, and establish a supported network amongst this difficult area of medical practice.

The Pain Revolution provided scholarships to twelve health professionals who live in regional communities across NSW/VIC. These individuals were trained to organise and deliver pain education events to the general public and other health professionals, and become clinical leaders and ‘champions for change’ within their community. Funding from the Enhancing Country Health Outcomes (ECHO) grant program enabled them to form a Local Pain Collective and deliver pain education in six regional areas of NSW: Wollongong, Nowra, Jindabyne, Cooma, Wagga Wagga and Albury/Wodonga.

Each Collective has delivered activities including pain education sessions, clinical support for knowledge to practice transfer, and a facilitated platform for peer-to-peer learning and resource sharing. A three-day workshop strengthened the network, bringing together the local pain educators, the reference group, content experts and facilitators, and monthly network meetings followed. The workshop also informed where skills could be developed, and this fed into the design and delivery of a monthly webinar series. Topics of direct relevance to the rural and regional context included understanding opioids, appraising evidence, facilitation skills, implementing behaviour change principles to pain care, and choosing words carefully when talking to pain patients.

In their application, Pain Revolution wrote that the project would deliver benefits on three levels. Of course it would benefit the rural and regional-based GPs and allied health professionals that participate. By improving pain education and care, it would also benefit the 1 in 5 rural Australians who suffer from persistent pain and the many more at risk of it because of a lack of up-to-date information and care.
The third level of benefit really speaks to the aims of the ECHO grant program:

“The extent to which persistent pain impacts entire communities – almost everyone is affected – means that this project will benefit entire communities by promoting informed self-management and resilience.”

FRRR is delighted to have been able to support this program, which is clearly making a difference to the lives of many rural people.

Investing in the long-term future of rural NSW communities

The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) has awarded $1,047,716 in grants to support 37 projects led by not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) across six rural communities in New South Wales, through the Investing in Rural Community Futures (IRCF) program.

The more than $1 million in grants is funded through FRRR’s partnerships with the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) and The Snow Foundation, which are both committed in helping develop communities in rural and regional NSW.

IRCF is a place-based program that provides local NFPs and community sector organisations with practical support and funding so they can be stronger, more resilient, and fulfill their purpose with greater impact. The program encourages collaboration and community-led solutions that will seed the long-term self-sufficiency of these organisations.

In partnership with the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, FRRR launched the IRCF program in the regional NSW communities of Junee, Leeton and Nambucca Valley. Now in their second year of the five-year program, these communities are sharing a further $557,698 in Ongoing Partnership Grants.

Alli Mudford, IRCF Program Manager, said that these grants mark the start of the second phase of the IRCF program.

“The first phase was about bringing community-based organisations together to explore common needs and identify areas where they could collaborate, as well as identify what support they required as individual organisations. The kind of issues that emerged included the need for staff, organisational training and skills development, and investment in community and organisational infrastructure.

“This second phase of the program is about helping the organisations take action on these common areas of need with the support of these grants.

“For example, in Nambucca Valley, a key challenge is broad community engagement. We are supporting Nambucca Valley Youth Services and Mujaay Ganma Foundation to develop projects to help them engage more deeply with locals, particularly the young people of Nambucca Valley, by providing training and mentoring opportunities.

“In Junee and Leeton, for example, Junee Rhythm and Rail, Junee Senior Citizens and Leeton Show Society will use their funding to purchase equipment and refurbish community infrastructure that is used by a number of local not-for-profits,” said Ms Mudford.

Some of the other projects funded through these IRCF Ongoing Partnership Grants include:

• Junee Community Power received $15,000 to alleviate energy poverty for the community by installing solar power to the Junee Senior Citizens Hall. This will be the start a bigger initiative for Junee not-for-profits and community power.
• Leeton Connect received $90,000 to support Leeton not-for-profits by employing a coordinator to deliver training and development.
• Jaanymili Bawrungga in Nambucca Valley received $30,290 to develop a strategic plan to assist with operational objectives and create cultural economic sustainability with the support of a consultant.

A full list of IRCF Ongoing Partnership Grants recipients and their projects are below.

FRRR staff will continue to walk alongside these three communities, working with them to implement their community roadmap. Nambucca Valley has seen a strong demand for funding with the first tranche allocated to projects that will be managed in line with the region’s overall allocation for the life of the program. Further grants will be awarded in Leeton and Junee later in the year.

Program now rolling out on South Coast

In April 2020, FRRR and The Snow Foundation partnered with the commitment to increase their ongoing support of South Coast communities and to expand the IRCF program into Bateman’s Bay, Nowra and Ulladulla. As part of the program launch, these communities are sharing in $490,018 in Start-Up Grants.

Kate Dezarnaulds, IRCF Coordinator for Shoalhaven, said last summer’s bushfires and now COVID-19 have had a direct impact on the energy, capability, and resources of these largely volunteer-run NFPs.

“These Start-Up Grants will provide a range of dynamic grassroots organisations with funding for projects that will strengthen them and increase their capacity to support the recovery and renewal of their communities, which have been so clearly impacted by these disasters.

“For example, community organisations such as Shoalhaven Health & Arts and Milton Ulladulla Business Chamber are looking at ways to better connect with their community through improved digital infrastructure. 

“Other groups, like Shoalhaven Community Preschool, Ulladulla and Districts Community Resources Centre, and the Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance, are using their grants to improve governance and provide tailored training and mentoring opportunities for staff and volunteers. These are the kind of projects that struggle to find funding outside of the Investing in Rural Community Futures program, but they make a real difference to the viability and resilience of the not-for-profit sector in the region,”  said Ms Dezarnaulds.

Some of the other projects funded through these IRCF Start-Up Grants include:

• The Family Place in the Batemans Bay area received $40,785 to develop a 5-year strategic plan that supports the urgent need to adapt to Telehealth to continue to provide services during COVID-19.
• The Shoalhaven Women’s Resource Group in Nowra received $18,810 to work with a consultant to develop a new fundraising strategy that focuses on the launch of a social enterprise to provide a first employment opportunity for the women they support who are exiting prison.
• Treading Lightly in Ulladulla received $25,000 to establish a Community Hub to host their regular program of small-scale community building meetings, workshops and activities for the regions affiliated NFP’s – these workshops and meetings often have an environmental sustainability and youth outreach focus.  

A full list of IRCF Start-Up Grants recipients and their projects are below.

Over the coming six months FRRR staff and facilitators on the ground will work closely with the three communities on the South Coast, supporting them to put their Start-Up Grants projects into action.

All 37 IRCF grantees will have until December 2021 to implement their projects.

Jump to IRCF Ongoing Partnership Grants: JUNEE | LEETON | NAMBUCCA VALLEY
Jump to IRCF Start-Up Grants: NOWRA | ULLADULLA | BATEMANS BAY

Organisation	Project	Grant
IRCF Ongoing Partnership Grants
JUNEE
Junee Business & Trades	Junee Community Events Trailer Enable improved coordination and resource-sharing through the purchase of a trailer and equipment for events to be utilised by the range of NFP groups.	$30,611
Junee Business & Trades	Junee Community Presentations Improve organisational capacity and upskill leaders and volunteers of local Community Groups by conducting a series of presentations and workshops.	$20,000
Junee Community Power	Invest in the Junee Community Circular Fund (JCCP) Increase organisational capacity and save operational costs for community organisations by investing in two solar systems to kickstart a circular fund for community-owned electricity generation in the Junee Shire.	$15,000
Riverina Boys	Public Address System Installation Build organisational capacity and increase community engagement through installation of a Public Address system across four recreation areas in Junee.	$20,000
Junee Senior Citizens	Saving the Senior Citizens Hall Reduce volunteer fatigue, build the capacity of the Junee Senior Citizens Club, and assist the wider community by supporting the Junee Senior Citizens Hall upgrade.	$13,000
Rhythm & Rail	Junee Community AV Build capacity across the not-for-profit sector and increase community engagement through the upgrade of a portable PA system and new control booth.	$19,944
LEETON
Leeton Connect	Leeton Connect – Connecting the Leeton LGA Not-for-Profits Now and in the Future Build organisational capacity across the Leeton not-for-profit sector through training, resources, an online community directory, and community volunteer and asset registers.	$90,000
Leeton Art Society	LASI Website – Create, Community & Continuity Improve community engagement and enhance digital literacy and organisational capacity of Leeton Art Society by investing in a new website and digital literacy program.	$15,500
Whitton Public School P&C	Hot Desk for the Whitton Community – Providing Strength from Within Foster sustainability and connectedness of local community organisations in Whitton by providing a shared central office space complete with office equipment.	$10,207
Leeton Show Society	Leeton Show Society Combined Office Space – A Workspace for Partnering NFPs Reduce volunteer fatigue and support NFP organisational capacity through upgrade of facilities at the Leeton Show Society combined office space.	$23,436
NAMBUCCA VALLEY
Alithia	Administration and Funding Support Strengthen organisational capacity and community inclusion and connectivity by initiating a range of measures to support the Alithia learning space in Valla Beach.	$30,000
Bowraville Innovative Social Enterprises Precinct Incorporated	Scoping Governance Build organisational capacity by developing and implementing a strong governance framework from which to train and support other local not-for-profits and social enterprises in Bowraville and the Nambucca Valley.	$44,912
Jaanymili Bawrungga Incorporated	Jaanymili Bawrungga Building Blocks Strengthen organisational capacity and sustainability by developing internal systems, leadership, and governance structures.	$30,290
MiiMi Aboriginal Corporation	Gumbaynggirr Administration Support Role Build organisational sustainability and capacity by employing a young local administrative person for 12 months to provide support to the organisation.	$55,735
Mujaay Ganma Foundation Aboriginal Corporation	Yuraal Guunumba Ngurraay: Gumbaynggirr Native Foods Community Garden Project Foster community engagement, organisational capacity, and share cultural knowledge by engaging trainee coordinators and mentors to kickstart the Mujaay Ganma’s Yuraal Garden Project.	$38,443
Muurrbay Aboriginal Language & Culture Co-operative	Strengthening Muurrbay & Aboriginal Languages for the Future Support the sustainability of Muurrbay, and more widely the survival of local Aboriginal languages, by updating organisational policies, procedure and plans with the assistance of the Brangan Group working with Muurrbay Board and staff.	$14,600
Nambucca Senior Citizens Club	Nambucca Valley Newsletter Promote community connectivity and reduce social exclusion by supporting a local Nambucca print newsletter and news desk at the Senior Citizens Hall.	$4,030
Nambucca Valley Phoenix Limited	The Phoenix Rising – Strategic Plan and Mentoring Develop a five-year strategic plan to transform NVP into a sustainable social enterprise, supporting people living with disabilities and/or other disadvantages to participate in employment, training, and micro-enterprise development.	$40,000
Nambucca Valley Youth Services Inc	Marketing and Business Administration Training for Staff and Volunteers Including Young People at the Nambucca Valley Youth Services Centre Upskill staff and volunteers at Nambucca Valley Youth Services Centre through three workshops across the Valley in marketing and administration and support the collection of content and design for a website and communications strategy.	$41,990
IRCF Start-Up Grants
NOWRA
The Shoalhaven Women’s Resource Group Limited	CREATING A FUTURE – Delivering Diversified Revenue to Thrive Support sustainability and succession of The Shoalhaven Women’s Resource Group Limited by development of a diversified revenue strategy including feasibility studies into potential social enterprises to enhance their funding mix and reduce vulnerability to changes in grant funding.	$18,810
Shoalhaven Community Preschool Incorporated	Staff Wellbeing and Capacity Building Program Empower the staff, strengthen their resilience post-bushfires, and increase their cultural awareness through the provision of a tailored staff development program, cultural awareness training and the employment of an Aboriginal Identified trainee.	$15,000
Shoalhaven Health and Arts	Shoalhaven Health & Arts – Website and Outreach Create community awareness of the program of Arts & Health activities being developed for the Nowra community by the newly formed organisation – Shoalhaven Arts & Health Inc through the development of marketing and communications channels designed to reach those with lived experience of recent bushfire trauma and the local services that support them.	$10,000
Shoalhaven Neighbourhood Services Inc	Client Management System (CMS) Enhancement to Enable Shoalhaven Neighbourhood Services to Become More Sustainable, Flexible, and Adaptive Streamline the delivery of in-home services through the purchase, migration, and implementation of a custom-designed CRM for Shoalhaven Neighbourhood Services so that they can better support the aged and people living with disability in the Nowra area.	$28,304
South Coast Beef Producers Association Incorporated	Shoalhaven Cattle Industry Training Centre Improve opportunities for commercial South Coast beef producers through the construction of a fit-for-purpose cattle handling, showing, and training facility at the Nowra Showgrounds.	$47,508
Tomerong School of Arts	Connecting Community, Building Resilience Enhance community connectedness through the creation and distribution of a quarterly community newsletter and new-resident welcome pack that will promote community life, volunteering opportunities and events centered around the Tomerong School of Arts.	$5,900
ULLADULLA
Milton Promotions Committee	Milton Back in Business Stimulate activity in the local economy to aid economic recovery from the fires and COVID through a cooperative marketing campaign seeking to encourage visitors and residents to shop local in Milton.	$10,000
Milton Ulladulla Business Chamber Incorporated	Community Connect Shoalhaven (CCSS) Enable the fragmented community sector of the Ulladulla / Milton area to better communicate, collaborate and support each other through the creation of a community newsletter, website, and database of organisations, events and volunteers.	$17,870
Ulladulla and Districts Community Resources Centre Incorporated	Building Foundations Develop supportive relationships and deeper connectivity to culturally diverse communities, especially the local Aboriginal community, through a research and training program for staff and volunteers followed by the formalisation and documentation of strategic partnerships with aligned organisations.	$45,902
Independence Ulladulla Inc	Everybody Deserves to THRIVE Enable Independence Ulladulla to secure their tenancy and operations, modernise their operating systems and update their training to provide a much-needed School Leavers’ Employment Support program and expand their community engagement offering to non-resident disability clients.	$50,000
Treading Lightly Inc	Treading Lightly Community Hub Establish a Community Hub for Treading Lightly to provide a visible focal point and an efficient delivery mechanism for the regions affiliated NFP’s to host their regular program of small-scale community building meetings, workshops and activities that often have a focus on environmental sustainability and youth outreach.	$25,000
Red Head Villages Association Incorporated	Red Head Villages Enhance social cohesion, get prepared with ‘shovel ready’ projects and improve future disaster preparedness through the preparation of a master plan for the five villages of the Red Head area just north of Ulladulla.	$31,971
BATEMANS BAY
Community Life Batemans Bay Inc	Look Listen Learn Inspire and develop capacity and organisational sustainability by conducting a one-day workshop for directors, staff, and volunteers, with a focus on nurturing individual leadership, good governance, responsibility, and accountability.	$5,045
Eurobodalla Education and Therapy Services Ltd	Building Allied Health in the Eurobodalla Strengthen organisational succession planning for the team at Muddy Puddles and retain local people and skills by establishing a student placement program for Allied Health workers.	$37,500
SEARMS Aboriginal Corporation	Community – Stronger Together Prepare the SEARMS Aboriginal Corporation for their next chapter with the development of a community engagement plan and new strategic plan to capitalise on their partnerships and networks and adjust to changing funding dynamics.	$40,000
Clyde River and Batemans Bay Historical Society Inc	Aspire, Acquire, Become! Build organisational capacity through the delivery of Governance training for the Clyde River & Batemans Bay Historical Society and their three local partner historical societies before a major expansion of built infrastructure and complexity of operations.	$22,923
The Family Place Inc	Growing a Strong Service for a Strong and Vibrant Community Drive innovation in service delivery, strengthen governance and invest in leadership for The Family Place through the appointment of a consultant to guide strategic planning for the future while acknowledging trauma and providing space to heal after the fires.	$40,785
Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance	Turbocharging South Coast Volunteer, NFPs Drive widespread and coordinated capacity building across 20+ grassroots NFP’s in the Eurobodalla area through the appointment of a project coordinator to support governance, leadership, and communications programs.	$37,500

FRRR’s Not-for-Profit Fundraising Accounts help make FRRR’s unique tax status available to community organisations to assist with fundraising.

The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Foundation helps to build strong, vibrant and resilient rural communities through education and skills development. The Foundation operates the RAS Rural Fund, a charitable organisation that is currently fundraising via a Not-for-Profit Fundraising Account to help community organisations across rural and regional NSW refurbish and restore rural showground kitchens.

Not only is the kitchen the heart of the home, but it is also often the heart and soul of rural communities, serving as a meeting place and hub for activities. Many showground kitchens across NSW require an upgrade to provide more functional facilities to benefit their communities and better support a broad range of events and activities. The RAS NSW Showground Kitchen Upgrade Grant project will provide critical funds to improve kitchens to serve their communities better, enabling them to come together to support one another, through fundraising events and other activities.

If you want to support this initiative and make a tax-deductible donation, you can do so via FRRR’s secure website.

If you’d like to explore having a fundraising account for your community project, contact Jo Kemp, FRRR’s Philanthropic Services Manager.

The Sunset Strip Village is located on Menindee Lakes in NSW and has experienced severe drought cycles for the past seven years. Without a water supply for the Community Centre Precinct lawns, Landcare Nursery and land restoration sites, the areas turned brown and undesirable.

The psychological and economic impact of the long-lasting drought has led to painful shortfalls for the community, including the tragic death of a much-loved local volunteer. In addition, at least 28 families in the agricultural industry have abandoned the area, with weekend residents quick to follow suit. The result was a drying and demoralised Sunset Strip, with a third of its houses up for sale.

The Sunset Strip Progress Association Inc (SSPAI) is a locally run not-for-profit, co-managing everything from the local pub to the post office. This resilient group of volunteers have tackled drought-related challenges in the community since 2012, and they were not about to give up their sunny strip. SSPAI knew what their village needed in order to not only survive, but grow and thrive as a small rural community – and they were willing to put in the work to make it happen.

The idea was simple: make the area green and prosperity will follow. The project has well-received by the community as it they all wanted to see the Community Centre Precinct flourish, a restoration of Landcare plantations, and an increase in lifestyle, liveability and house sales with new residents.

Thanks to a $19,070 Tackling Tough Times Together grant funded by the Australian Government, the Sunset Strip Progress Association purchased a submersible pump, a 1,000-watt solar panel, a water controller, a pressure solar pump and 3,300-gallon water tank to a create a permanent groundwater source for the 6,000 sqm flourishing community lawn around the Community Centre Precinct.

Since this much-needed investment, the benefits in the whole village have been obvious. The Sunset Strip Village has welcomed three new families and seen an overall renewed positive atmosphere in the community. The Landcare Nursery Team are growing seedlings that will ensure future growth and thriving greenery – making the Village a desirable destination to work and live again.

The Eden Game Development Centre in conjunction with the Eden Community Access Centre received a grant for $9,262 through the FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation Grants program. It was to deliver their version of the Heywire Step Up initiative to inspire disengaged young people to take the first step on their journey to success.

William Sharples, who led the development and implementation of the project, drew on his personal experience to inspire and motivate a team of young people to  facilitate the ‘Opportunity Youth Festival’, which was held in Eden in April 2019. Like many others in his community, William had tried to seek meaningful and enjoyable work, but living in a rural town, felt his opportunities were limited.

Discovering a passion for video game development and coding, along with the suport of a few key mentors meant William became more engaged. He has followed his dream and now runs the Eden Game Development Centre, teaching young people tech skills like coding, game development and virtual reality.

As a Heywire Trailblazer alumnus, William jumped at the chance to adopt and adapt the Step Up idea to create a fun event, featuring free food and great entertainment, to attract local young people. To ensure it resonated with local youth, he involved young people in the planning and execution of the day.

With so many people and local organisations putting in efforts to create opportunities for local young people, this was a great chance to showcase the opportunities in a fun and engaging manner to attract young people to investigate options available to them.

The theme of the festival was ‘opportunity’ and there was plenty of that to go around. Around 400 youth came from all over Eden and surrounding areas to spend a day showing off their talents, as well as learning about what the future might hold for them.     

Weeks of planning by the Youth Project Committee resulted in a spectacular day of fun and frivolity, including local youth bands and singers, displays from 35 services and sporting organisations, and plenty more activities.

Feedback was very positive, with participants and services asking if the event was going to be held again in 2020. In acquitting their report, Eden Community Access Centre said they found their greatest success (and challenge!) was letting youth ‘run the show’, with the Steering Committee merely facilitating their ideas and keeping the event safe and within budget.

Grants of up to $150,000 available for Enhancing Country Health Outcomes

Bendigo, 5 May 2020: The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) is inviting not-for-profit organisations to apply for an Enhancing Country Health Outcomes (ECHO) grant to deliver initiatives that improve the health of people living in rural, regional and remote Victoria and New South Wales.

Rural communities face distinct challenges associated with distance and isolation, which place these regions at greater risk of poorer health management and outcomes than those living in metropolitan areas. In addition to these challenges, many parts of NSW and Victoria have been affected by drought, bushfires and now COVID-19, all of which have significant impacts on health care resources.

The ECHO grants program launched in 2018 thanks to a generous donation from Beyond Medical Education. The program offers targeted grants of between $50,000 and $150,000 for charitable initiatives delivered by not-for-profit organisations to strengthen, improve access to, and retain the quality of relevant and appropriate primary health care services in rural, regional and remote Victoria and NSW.

FRRR CEO, Natalie Egleton, says that basic health services, programs and equipment are vital to the sustainability of rural communities.

“Many of Victoria and New South Wales’ rural communities have limited access to appropriate primary health care. This has been compounded by the drought, bushfires, and now by the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlights the real need for communities to be able to attract resources and implement sustainable, best practice models that will see better health outcomes for local residents.

“Last year, we awarded $475,000 in grants through this program, and it’s great to see them making a real difference in the community. For example, Latrobe Community Health Service received a grant of $125,200 to implement the ‘Telkaya Project – Very Brief Advice For Behavioural Change’. Through this project, LCHS developed online training and support materials regarding lifestyle changes around smoking, nutrition, alcohol and physical activity. Staff are now able to integrate this intervention advice into their routine primary health care services.

“Mallacoota Community Health, Infrastructure and Resilience Fund, in Victoria, was another ECHO grant recipient, using $136,864 to help the local medical clinic get additional health services up and running. Patients can now access services including a general mental health program and Teen Clinic and a piloted nurse-led after-hours service, which has been particularly valuable given the impact of the fires,” said Ms Egleton.

Other types of rural and regional focussed projects that could be eligible include innovative primary health care training and leading-edge professional development to address an identified local need; measures to enhance the retention of primary health care services; or fostering local partnerships to develop better primary health care models. Full details and other examples are available in the program guidelines.

“The bushfires and COVID-19 have emphasised the real need for quality primary health services in rural and regional areas. Building strong and sustainable relationships that support the health of these communities is critical. It’s wonderful to be able to provide support for projects on the ground that foster this kind of long-term, health care provider collaboration,” said Ms Egleton.

Applications can be made via FRRR’s Grants Gateway, and close at 5pm AEST, 9 June 2020. Outcomes will be advised mid-August 2020.

Northern Rivers Community Foundation (NRCF) was established in 2004 with the purpose to connect people who care with local causes that matter, to improve community well-being for the Northern Rivers region of NSW. They provide annual grants to a wide range of community groups for projects ranging from mental health, to growing fresh food to ensure children are well nourished and can learn, to distributing Back to School vouchers. NRCF is particularly focused on supporting grand-carers, supporting riding for the disabled and palliative care.

FRRR’s NRCF Community Foundation Account helps facilitate donations for a number of their partners and enables them to leverage FRRR’s tax deductible status to maximise their donations. In 2019 they distributed some $114,000 in grants including to the Bangalow Koalas to set up a wildlife corridor; provided medical equipment to Tweed Palliative Support and Wedgetail Retreat Community Hospice; enabled the Bunjum Aboriginal Corporation to refresh their unit used as a transition house for women fleeing violence; provided professional development for tutors and support workers at Sprung Integrated Dance Theatre; and supported a youth program for first offenders with NSW Police participation.

The Lockhart & District Historical Society operates the Greens Gunyah Museum, the Doris Golder Gallery and the local Visitor Information Centre in the NSW Riverina. They saw a wonderful opportunity for expansion when the building and land next to the museum was listed for sale, under the guise of the Double the Space Double the History Project. 

A fundraising campaign, using a FRRR fundraising account and a $15,000 grant from the Culture, Arts, Tourism and Community Heritage (CATCH) grants program allowed the Historical Society to purchase the adjoining property and expand their offerings to include hosting events. New displays could also be developed and storyboards showcasing historical and contemporary stories of agriculture within the region. The Greens Gunyah Museum is participating in a project with ten other museums within the Riverina region to collect video footage of rare and iconic agricultural machines found within the participating museums, and interviews with past operators. Importantly, the collection could be displayed above the flood line and provide an all-weather area in which the collection can be interpreted through a new electronic display, photographs and associated items. Floodwaters up to a metre high had previously come through the museum in 2010 and 2012.

After four long years, and a fundraising campaign which delivered the just under $100,000 required for the project and the revived Greens Gunyah Museum was completed in May 2019. The public is now visiting and able to enjoy exhibitions that have been developed so far.

An exhibition for the politician, diplomat and proud Lockhart local Tim Fischer opened on 2 May 2019 in one of the rooms with an outstanding response from the community. Over 200 people celebrated with Tim, who was able to enjoy his exhibition before he became too ill to attend.

Glen Innes is a small town in the Northern Tablelands of NSW, similar to many other rural farming communities enduring the unrelenting drought. GLENRAC, a local not for profit Landcare network, understands that the farming lifestyle often means that farming families do not have the time to engage in social activities as much as people who live and work in town. On top this, the impact of the drought means that this lack of time is exacerbated hugely, with farmers busy feeding their stock most days, and trying to maintain the rest of their farm in the remaining time.

The flow on effect of this is that often farmers in these communities neglect their own physical and mental wellbeing.

“We know that regardless of how well you run your stock, operate your property and manage your business, if your health is compromised, you aren’t able to work to your full ability,” GLENRAC Project Manager Pamela Benton, told the Glen Innes Examiner.

With support from the Tackling Tough Time Together (TTTT) program, GLENRAC partnered with Rural Fit to deliver the Friends with Health Benefits program to Glen Innes farmers, helping to improve their fitness and overall health. The $9,826 grant meant that GLENRAC were able to offer free access to an online group fitness forum and phone calls to Rural Fit for 15 participants over four months.

The program focused on providing:

• Weight loss support;
• Strength training;
• Improving cardiovascular fitness;
• Management and prevention of metabolic conditions – diabetes, cholesterol, and hypertension;
• Management of mental health conditions;
• Stress management;
• Flexibility or joint stability;
• How to reduce injury risk;
• Improving sleep and reducing fatigue;
• Pain / injury management.

The program was officially launched at GLENRAC’s Fit Farmers event in September 2016, which was also R U OK Day. An evaluation at the completion of the program saw that the participating farmers felt better about themselves, were keen to continue to improve their physical fitness, and had developed a new interest in nutrition and made new friends.