Greater Charitable Foundation has committed more than $500,000 to assist its current charity partners deal with the challenges of rolling out their programs under the constraints of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Many of the Foundation’s current partners saw an immediate disruption to the delivery of their services as a result of COVID-19, leaving a large number of vulnerable people within the community without the support the programs provide.

The additional funding has allowed the partners to either innovate the way in which current services are delivered or pivot their service to meet changing needs.

Benefiting from the renewed funding are the Foundation’s six Hunter-based charitable partners.

Hunter Medical Research Institute plans to convert its existing MIDAS2 post stroke fatigue trial to an online platform using tele-health services.

OzHarvest funding will be used to address the immediate need for food relief caused by COVID-19. The service will provide 2,000 nutritious Food Essential Boxes, which include fresh produce and pantry staples, to vulnerable families and households in the Hunter Region and on the Gold Coast.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern NSW had to temporarily suspend the acceptance of new families into the House as a result of COVID-19. They plan to use the extra funding to ‘keep the lights on’ for seriously ill children and their families that will see the gradual increase of families able to be supported at the House over the coming months.

Cerebral Palsy Alliance used its funding for the development and rollout of ‘CPA Telepractice’, an online platform that allows therapists to provide ‘virtual’ early response therapy to at-risk children and their families.

The University of Newcastle were forced to postpone their Healthy Youngsters, Healthy Dads program and plan to use the additional funds to complete the rollout of their community program and finalise the development of resource materials.

Youth Off The Streets has seen an increase in demand for intensive one-on-one support as a result of isolation and plans to use the additional funding to provide staff and resources to assist students with their return to school.

Greater Charitable Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Anne Long, said that while the COVID-19 crisis caused significant challenges for the Foundation and its partners, it has been inspiring to see the partners quickly refocus their business to ensure they continue to serve their communities.

“The immediate impact of COVID-19 on the majority of our partners was significant. For some, social distancing restrictions forced a rethink of program delivery, while others pivoted their entire service model to address changing community needs,” Long said. “It became more important than ever for us to reaffirm our support and commitment to these partners and work closely with them to deliver these critically important services.

Long said the Foundation’s next community funding round will take place in the first half of 2021, as they celebrate 10 years of giving.

“We are incredibly proud of the work all partners have undertaken in a short amount of time to evolve their businesses and maintain their focus on providing their communities with much needed support,” she said.

Greater Charitable Foundation has now provided more than $9.5m to 31 community partners since its inception in 2011.