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Hunter charities receive share in $800,000 grant funding

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Twelve regional NSW charities, including seven in the Hunter, received an early Christmas present today, thanks to the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation.

The organisation will announce – during an official function at McDonald Jones Stadium – funding grants totalling $800,000 to support the not-for-profit groups to deliver life-changing projects and infrastructure to support their local communities.

The big Newcastle/Hunter winner was Rural and Remote Medical Services Limited.

They’ll use the $120,000 on technology to help supply dental and medical services to people in disadvantaged rural and regional towns.

The KIDS Foundation picked up $90,000, We Care Connect Limited walked away with $70,000 and Dementia Australia Limited pocketed $43,000 for virtual reality equipment and immersive VR education for caregivers.

Little Wings Limited also benefited to the tune of $60,000 for Medical Wings 2.0, Missing School Incorporated will use $50,000 towards its See-Be, The Robot Service for Sick Kids and the LIVEfree Project Inc accepted $44,000, which supports the Smile & Thrive Dental Program.

Other recipients included SHINE for Kids ($60,000), Make a difference PMQ Incorporated ($33,000), Karitane ($112,000), Country Education Foundation of Australia Ltd ($33,000) and Sunnyfield ($85,000).

Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation chair Jennifer Leslie said the projects were chosen on the impact they would have on defined areas of community need in regional NSW.

“The 12 grants provided today will enable initiatives that directly address disadvantage, marginalisation or isolation to help at-risk youth and vulnerable people in our local communities become more resilient and better connected,” she explained.

“Each project that received funding has been recognised by the Charitable Foundation because we know it will make a difference.

“I’ve seen first-hand the long-lasting impact our grants have in delivering projects and outcomes that help create opportunities for those in need to thrive.

“These initiatives will help to rewrite the future for many.

“This is certainly the ideal way to round out what we acknowledge has been another challenging year for our partners.

“We’re looking forward to working with this round of grant recipients as they bring these projects to life from early next year, giving hope and support to those who need it.”

LIVEfree Project program coordinator Isabel Thambar was delighted.

“This grant will help drive an expansion to reach more than 1,000 vulnerable young people in the region who have experienced severe hardship, through family violence, drug abuse or poverty,” she said.

“It enables our Smile & Thrive Dental Program to reach four times as many disadvantaged children and provide them with access to regular dental appointments that promote positive hygiene and healthy behaviours for the child and extended family.

“It brings an immediate change to their lives as they receive the dental treatment they desperately need.

“But, longer term, it also results in greater self-confidence, increases protective factors and initiates a routine of self-care.”

We Care Connect will use a $70,000 grant to fund a Hunter-based hub to prepare and distribute tailored support packages for local families living in poverty.

“It’ll provide children with great quality pre-loved children’s items like clothing, cots and prams to fundamentally reverse the day-to-day impact of poverty,” CEO Derryck Klarkowski said.

Funding of $50,000 was presented to Missing School Incorporated, which CEO and co-founder Megan Gilmour said would be used to address the loneliness faced by sick children within the region by getting them back to school when they are unable to physically attend.

“See-Be, The Robot Service for Sick Kids, will help address the learning and social isolation of kids with serious illness in the region by keeping them connected to their school community through the use of telepresence robot,” she added.

“See-Be is a dedicated fleet of telepresence robots that enable sick kids to both see and be there, to be seen and heard, and move their See-Be robot around as if they’re in class.”

This is the second grant ceremony for the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation for 2021, bringing the total amount to $1.73 million.

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