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Local community groups to share $400K+ in grants across Australia and New Zealand

Menchie Khairuddin
December 7, 2023

Forty-one community organisations across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) will share in almost AUD $400,000 in grants to support programs supporting local mental health and sustainability activities.

The Bupa Foundation provides grants of up to AUD$10,000 to community organisations as part of a dedicated program that started in 2019 and has now invested more than one million dollars to support communities across ANZ.

Roger Sharp, Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer, Bupa Asia Pacific said the program aims to help community groups run meaningful, healthy and practical programs that provide real benefits to local communities.

“Community organisations play a vital role in grassroots environmental conservation and promoting positive mental and physical health.

“Since the Bupa Foundation Community Grants Program launched, I’ve seen first-hand a newfound passion and pride in our employees and an eagerness for our people to roll up their sleeves and help make a difference in their communities,” Roger said.

The full list of 2023 Bupa Foundation Community Grant recipients are as follows:

Australia

Activus Transport: By connecting those in need with a volunteer companion, the BuddyUp program aims to instil resilience, reduce social isolation, lower stress and build confidence amongst people who may be feeling vulnerable or lonely.
Adelaide Botanic Gardens Foundation: Will deliver an impactful therapeutic horticulture program to a broad spectrum of individuals including people with mental health issues and physical disabilities.
Amputee Golf Victoria Incorporated: The Victorian Amputee Championship will host a Come and Try Clinic which aims to support breaking down the stigma associated with people with a disability and showcase what golfers with a disability can do in the community.
Assistance Dogs Australia: Through this project, Assistance Dogs Australia, with its team of mental health clinicians and trainers, will teach individuals with PTSD how to harness the\ potential of their Assistance Dogs to regulate their emotions and accomplish tasks that their condition might otherwise hinder.
batyr Australia: Works to develop and maintain mental health in young people in regional Queensland communities through sports, education and career opportunities.
Ben’s Place: The Foundation grant will enable the free community pantry service to introduce a range of additional supports, activities and monthly mental health workshops to the community members accessing services.
Borderline Australia: The 2024 Borderline Week and Weekend programs aim to support youth mental health education, empower young people in a relatable way, and most importantly smash the stigma involved with talking about mental health for teenagers and society.
Compass Community Care: The grant would support Compass Community Care’s “Welcome Hubs” through funding and volunteering to support the mental health and well-being of displaced Ukrainian children and their families.
Crohn’s & Colitis Australia: Will deliver a Kid’s Fun Day event that will provide learning opportunities, mentoring and enjoyment that will improve the quality of life for young people living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Dance Chance Incorporated: Across 2024, the Dance Chance Program will provide weekly classes for 20 dancers aged 5-70, with a range of intellectual and physical disabilities to experience the joy of dance.
Earbus Foundation WA: The Program will provide regular ear health services to Aboriginal and at-risk children in the Perth Metro region
Everybody NOW!: Will run Gran Slam – Seens and Teens, an intergenerational slam poetry project that improves mental health and well-being for teenagers and seniors.
Feel the Magic: Feel the Magic’s signature early intervention program involves a three-day camp developed by a clinical psychologist where children will gain an understanding of their grief and learn coping strategies to regulate difficult emotions triggered by their loss.
Fitted for Work: We will offer a monthly walking group for up to 20 women who are experiencing disadvantage helping women to develop an appreciation for the outdoors and increase social inclusion, connectedness, confidence, and resilience.
Freedom Solutions Australia: Freedom Solutions Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that designs and builds assistive technology solutions for people living with disability.
Invertebrates Australia: Will deliver a project encouraging people to appreciate the important roles that insects play in our urban areas and to reduce pesticide use around homes and gardens.
John’s Vision: John’s Vision Homeless Super Clinic is a project designed to address the inequity of eye care access for Homeless and vulnerable communities in Rockingham.
KidsXpress: The partnership program at Hampden Park Public School will provide trauma-informed education and expressive therapy over a 10-week program.
Kintsugi Heroes: This project aims to support the well-being and build connections of unpaid carers by recording and publishing five conversations with unpaid carers from various backgrounds across 2024.
Knox Infolink: The Boronia Community Breakfast Program serves breakfast four mornings per week, to around 35-50 people each day with a focus on building trust and relationships with the guests and fostering a sense of community and social connection.
Neuromuscular WA: The Adolescent Resilience and Capacity Building Program delivers a range of strategies aimed at increasing participant resilience and self-confidence. Children living with neuromuscular conditions are more socially isolated and more frequently targeted for bullying than their peers living without disability.
No Limits Perth: The project will create a hub of well-being that will support people experiencing disadvantage and provide free access to essential services as well as a place to meet other people over coffee in a relaxed environment.
Ocean Heroes Limited: The project aims to improve the well-being of those on the autism spectrum and their families through surfing by delivering 8 free surfing events across NSW.
Operation Sunshine WA: The grant will support the delivery of 118 sunshine packs to children displaced by violence abuse and neglect across Western Australia. The packs aim to support their mental health and well-being, build resilience and give children a sense of self-worth.
Palm Beach Soccer Club: The Grant will support the Accessible Football for Kids program which supports kids with disabilities to get involved in soccer as a way to socialise with other kids as well as get fit.
Redkite: The Redkite child counselling program is delivered by a qualified team to help children manage the overwhelming emotional challenges that cancer brings by providing a free counselling service for children and teens aged between 0-18.
Success Works Partners: The Lived Experience And Diversity (LEAD) Program will recruit and train volunteer mentors who are diverse and can share their lived experiences with the vulnerable women Success Works helps.
The Legacy Club of Brisbane: The Explorers’ Program is a social inclusion program that targets 30 Brisbane-based people with disabilities aged 50+ and brings them together on a semi-regular basis to provide connection to others in similar circumstances and social activities.
The Malpa Project: The ‘Young Doctors for Life’ program is targeted at Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children (9-12 yo) from seriously disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Mirabel Foundation: Mirabel’s Individual Support Program’s primary objective is to provide assistance to high-needs young people, who have been orphaned or abandoned due to parental illicit drug use.
The Venny: The Venny’s Girls+ Group is a social and emotional support program tailored to girls, and those who identify as female, from marginalised communities, aged between 8-15.
Berry Street Victoria: Will run the Western Regions – Ballarat “Say It Sister” program, supporting young people who have experienced trauma to manage their emotions, recover and thrive.

New Zealand

Big Brother and Big Sisters of Rotorua: The program aims to improve youth well-being, increase resilience, enhance well-being, foster inter-generational relationships and decrease pressure on families that don’t have support networks.
Blind Low Vision NZ: The Blind Low Vision NZ Guide Dogs program aims to improve the mental well-being of our blind and low-vision clients, through fostering independence and social interaction with the aid of Guide Dogs.
Kenzie’s Gift: Kenzie’s Gift early mental health support program is provided by registered mental health professionals to children dealing with the impacts of cancer or bereavement.
Love Soup: The program will deliver Community Dinner Events and school lunches in Auckland, Tokoroa and Rotorua, supporting people in need.
Northcross Intermediate School: The Hikoi Ki Te Taha Programme which strives to be a hands-on and practical response for children who feel significantly disconnected from school, their learning, their peers and the community.
Perinatal Wellbeing Canterbury Trust: Runs a weekly group providing a safe and supportive environment in which parents receive peer support and connection, and learn how to manage and minimise mental wellbeing challenges related to pregnancy, childbirth and parenting.
Skylight Trust: This programme is designed to strengthen and equip children and young people to help them navigate mental health challenges.
UpsideDowns Education Trust: UpsideDowns is a charity providing children living with Down Syndrome throughout Aotearoa New Zealand with essential speech and language therapy in order to help them talk, read, and write.
Youth Climate Collective: The Community Climate Action Project aims to provide a platform for youth attendees to turn their newly acquired knowledge and skills into actionable projects that address climate change and eco-anxiety and promote healthy lifestyles.