The Boolarra Community Development Group help promote the social, economic and environmental development of Boolarra and surrounds, taking lead from the community. They work as a liaison between local and state government departments, not-for-profits and community groups to achieve positive outcomes for the region.

They had attended the community meeting in Mirboo and recognised the opportunity to support their region to fill this training and education gap. Reaching out to the Boolarra community they identified a series of courses that would be in demand including event management, safe food handling, chainsaw training, barista training, small motor training, environmental gardening and first aid training courses.

Using a $19,950 grant from FRRR’s Grants for Resilience & Wellness grant program, funded by the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund, the Boolarra Community Development Group ran nine courses over a year. The Development Group works with local community groups to actively encourage members to participate in the training course. They also had a focus on increasing female participation, which was also identified as a community priority during their consultation.

In total, the courses attracted over 90 participants which was well above the expected target and an impressive feat for a small rural community. Each course was met with lots of positive feedback about the content and delivery of the training sessions.

The district is now benefiting from the breadth of skills and abilities available within the community, reducing the need for outsourcing and supporting the vitality of the region. Many participants flagged that they are interested in the potential for more workshops and training courses to run in the future.

As the recovery effort evolved, it became apparent that it was going to take more than just repairing and rebuilding local infrastructure to restore the community. The bushfires had taken an enormous emotional toll on residents, and it was time for the community’s mental wellbeing became the recovery priority.

The Jindivick Progress Association developed an initiative to address the long-term effects of stress and grief that had plagued the local community, hosting five Community Wellbeing Retreats using a Grants for Resilience & Wellness grant of $14,750 funded by VBAF. Creating the promotional material, flyers and invites, the Jindivick Progress Association attracted 88 participants from the three local communities, Jindivick, Labertouche and Drouin West.

The retreats were able to provide the tools for relaxation and stress reduction techniques, education about nutrition, health and psychological wellbeing for the local community and were inclusive to men, women, young, older or disabled participants. The fifth retreat enabled Jindivick Progress Association to run a leaders retreat to reward community volunteers for their tireless work in the community.

The Jindivick Progress Association was able to engage the local community in the development of the retreats, supporting local business in the provision of catering and venues. Feedback from the events suggested that participants realised the importance of relaxation and caring for oneself, along with community engagement and connection. An overwhelming majority of retreat participants were supportive of the events continuing in future with one participant saying “I have had the value of community reinforced and enhanced. The value of support in times of struggle is inestimable.”

Omeo District Health, centred in the remote Victorian Alps, provides primary health care to the communities of Ensay, Swifts Creek, Omeo, Benambra Dinner Plain and surrounding localities. The region’s cloistered location means that both food security and access to local fresh produce can be an issue for some residents and so, as part of the Omeo Region Building Health Food Futures project, Omeo District Health set up the ‘Healthy Harvest’ produce and information exchange.

‘Healthy Harvest’, with the help of a $4,150 Small Grants for Rural Communities grant, would help build the sustainability of the Harvest Exchange meets throughout the year by providing the equipment and resources to display and promote the harvest goods and project materials. It also builds on the strength of the local community who have a lot of knowledge and skills to share when it comes to the growth and establishment of their own gardens and produce.

Portable tables, sandwich board signs, shelter marquees, seed sticks, and ‘Harvest Host’ aprons were some of the items purchased with the grant with 16 events scheduled throughout the year. Harvest Host volunteers and participants from Ensay, Swifts Creek, Omeo and the Benambra communities all benefited from the new resource.

“It is a fabulous way for the members of the community to meet,” said one of the Harvest Exchange Hosts. “It is very social, and as we all like producing things, there are lots of ideas exchanged and information given.”

The Healthy Harvest produce and information exchange resulted in high engagement with a current base of 138 registered participants. A survey administered in June 2018 indicated high satisfaction with the program and overall positive impacts on social connection and mental health, access to fresh produce and variety, information and produce exchange as well as increased motivation for people to grow their own product to eat and share. It also has had a significant impact on people feeling connected to their community.

New program offers grants up to $150,000 in rural NSW and VIC to improve health services

Bendigo, 31 May 2018: It’s no secret that distance and isolation place rural and regional communities at greater risk of poorer health outcomes and management. To provide much-needed support, the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) has launched a new funding program that will help to improve health outcomes for people living in rural, regional and remote New South Wales and Victoria.

The Enhancing Country Health Outcomes (ECHO) program will provide grants for charitable initiatives that strengthen, improve accessibility and retain quality primary health care services in local communities.

The funding for this program comes via Beyond Medical Education, which closed down due to changes in government policy and transferred their funds to FRRR. Thanks to this generous donation, grants of up to $150,000 are available for projects to be delivered over two-years from October 2018. Approximately $ 825,000 is available over two rounds.

FRRR CEO, Natalie Egleton says that priority will be given to locally driven initiatives that support primary health care.

“Basic health services, programs and equipment are vital to the sustainability of small communities. Through ECHO, we can support local communities to attract resources and implement best practice sustainable models to help local residents to live and thrive in their communities.

“FRRR has previously supported a number of projects that achieved better health outcomes for community members. For example, we funded the Australian College of Optometry to purchase a slit lamp to enhance the level of eye care in Ouyen, Victoria. Patients can now receive early intervention and be treated locally rather than travelling 100 km for specialist appointments. This program will mean that there can be more of these kinds of local initiatives,” said Ms Egleton.

Other projects that could be eligible include primary health care training and leading-edge professional development in a rural and remote context; measures to enhance the retention of primary healthcare services in rural and remote locations; or fostering local partnerships to develop better primary health care models in their community. Full details and other examples are available in the program guidelines.

Lynda Vamvoukis, a former  CEO of Beyond Medical Education, said that in gifting the remaining funds to FRRR, the  Board wanted to ensure funds were available to community groups that are focused on addressing local primary health care needs.

“Quality primary health services and building long term, sustainable relationships are critical, especially in rural and regional areas. This program provides support on the ground for collaborative, multidisciplinary and integrated projects that respond to specific primary health care issues within a local community,” said Ms Vamvoukis.

Applications for the ECHO program close on 9 July 2018.

The Callignee Community Hall is now benefitting from the installation of a number of cupboards that have improved the overall utility of the available storage space in the Callignee Hall, thanks to a dedicated and determined group of women.

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The Callignee Stitch & Chat group was formed in May 2009 as a response to a need for community groups to provide opportunities for local women to gather together after the bushfires. It created a socially and emotionally supportive environment where women could share experiences while participating in craftwork. Stitch & Chat now has a day group with 18 regular attendees and an evening group with 10, and numbers are still increasing.

Stitch & Chat also functions as a forwarding service for items of community interest, government and other assistance programs, and other items of interest to the community. It is a conduit for discussion of local issues and for providing feedback to government authorities. Another craft group concentrating on card making has also grown from the group. At the present time the group is run by a Volunteer Coordinator and plans to become incorporated in the next 12 months to ensure its sustainability.

A Victorian Bushfire Regional Donation Account was set up in 2009 by Rotary International using FRRR’s DGR status, and funding of $5000 was granted to the Callignee Community Hall Committee Inc in May 2012 to support the Callignee Stitch & Chat group to purchase five two-door and one single door freestanding cupboard units and multiple storage containers. The cupboards have shelving and divisions that have allowed the group to organise their equipment, which they have worked together to sort, categorise and label to ensure it is now easily located and neatly stored. Their equipment, which includes books, magazines, patterns, patchwork and embroidery supplies, sewing machines and overlockers, was previously stored in a communal area in 50 litre plastic tubs stacked five high, creating quite a safety hazard.

With materials now sorted and readily accessible, the group has increased productivity and successfully completed a number of community projects including:

• 12 quilts for donation to charity and support groups;
• 12 knitted shawls donated to aged care facilities in the region;
• 20 knitted beanies for inclusion in Police ‘comfort bags’ for presentation to children who have been removed from their family environment for various reasons;
• 13 patchwork bags presented to victims of the Queensland floods; and
• Work is underway on oven mitts for the victims of the Tasmanian fires.

​With their materials and equipment organised and easily accessible, the group can now focus on their crafty productivity.

Ken Jones, Chair of Rex Theatre Charlton, believes the recent history of Charlton’s Rex Theatre would make an ideal movie script in itself:

“…old cinema saved by community during harsh drought, experiences renaissance in interest and support, only to succumb to abrupt closure resulting from damage inflicted by two successive major floods. There is drama, heartache, uncertainty – is there a future for the historic building?”

There certainly is a future, and a story, made possible by the resilience of the Board, the volunteers who operate this community owned venue, and the extended community across Victoria who have helped this theatre into its new era.

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On the night of 14 January 2011, the Rex had over one metre of water flow through the building. Flooring, carpet, wiring, the piano, the stage and the seating were all badly damaged. While the giant clean up efforts were under way, Scouts Victoria got involved and tried to revive community spirits with the running of a free movie screening powered by generators.

The shadowboard outside the theatre read “The Rex will Rebound” and renovations began in August 2011. Support from multiple sources began to provide hope for getting the Rex theatre back up and running, with new improvements to boot. FRRR hosted a Not-for-Profit Fundaising Account (formerly known as a Donation Account) for the project, providing administration and a channel through which funding could be collected.

Adjoining shops were turned into a candy bar and a tiny gallery and gathering area. An all access lift was installed to facilitate entry for disabled patrons. One of the theatre’s most eye-catching features – the stunning waterfall stage curtain, has been replaced, along with new wall-mounted lighting brackets – “…a finishing touch which draws the internal space together and heightens the sense of anticipation of what the theatre is about to present” (Ken Jones). Both aesthetics and practicalities were taken on board for this final aspect, with the upward lift of the curtain complimenting the vertical lines of the auditorium and removing it from potential threat in the event of future flooding.

On the re-opening night of the Rex Theatre there was sustained applause as the new curtain was raised. What a wonderful achievement for the community – despite disaster, the show will go on.

Donate to The Rex Theatre.

WATCH: Learn more about FRRR’s support of The Rex.