Community giving supports 21 charitable projects across the Limestone Coast
Stand Like Stone awards over $115,000
Community giving supports 21 charitable projects across the Limestone Coast
Stand Like Stone awards over $115,000 in its annual small grants round
The Stand Like Stone Foundation has awarded over $115,000 in grants for 21 community-led projects that will help support the region. Projects are varied and include helping with food support and essential personal supplies, through to driver education for regional students and improvements for community facilities in Allendale East, Penola and Naracoorte to name a few.
Anne Kerr, CEO of Stand Like Stone Foundation said the impact of donations to the foundation continues to be realised every year, with donations invested to earn income which is then given back to the community annually.
“The beauty of a donation to Stand Like Stone is that 100% stays local and supports this region forever.”
“We’re delighted to once again be able to support so many important projects for the Limestone Coast”, said Mrs Kerr.
Stand Like Stone’s name was inspired by Adam Lindsay Gordon’s “Ye Wearie Wayfarer - Life is mostly froth and bubble, Two things stand like stone, Kindness in another’s trouble, Courage in your own”, which has certainly resonated with the team over the past few months.
“I think for most of us, these past few months has reinforced the importance of community, and as the Limestone Coast’s only community foundation we’re proud of the role we play.
We’d like to thank everyone who applied for a grant and congratulate the successful projects. At the end of the day it’s thanks to our sponsors, donors, supporters, and grant applicants that we can realise our vision of inspiring community kindness and courage.
They make these projects happen and we can’t thank them enough” said Mrs Kerr.
2020 Successful Community Grant Projects
Organisation | Project | Grant Amount & Sub Fund |
Foodbank (Limestone Coast)
| Helping to fund additional equipment to support food relief activities, including bigger food packing benches and scales, enabling more Christmas hampers, school children hampers and meal packs to be distributed across the region. | $4,000 SE Disaster Relief Stand Like Stone |
Penola High School | Driver Education program for low income students living in Penola, Nangwarry and Kalangadoo. Obtaining a drivers’ licence is every young person’s rite of passage and having a licence will assist in securing employment as well as feeling less isolated. | $5,000 Penola Coonawarra Focis on Youth |
Lifeline SE | Supporting the “Suicide awareness in the community project”, delivering face to face training aimed at reducing suicide rates that are prevalent in males working in forestry, construction and trade industries. | $2,000 Agri-Links |
Mt Gambier Private Hospital | Funding for 2 x convertible sofa beds to enable families to comfortably stay close to their loved one in hospital, enhancing the wellbeing for all involved. | $10,000 Stand Like Stone Lorraine Humphreys |
SE Animal Welfare League | Supporting the “Behavioural & Environment Change, new owner training and consultation” project. This project aims to create good behaviours in rescued dogs, work with and train new owners, and provide community awareness of this program. | $5,000 Stand Like Stone |
Penola Scout Group | A computer and wi-fi access to help the scouts record their personal badge work onto a new computer system, as well as having improved technology available for the children and leaders to support the scouts. | $1,249 Penola Coonawarra |
Spare Ya Change for Kids | Support for the “Nourishing Minds” project, helping provide pre-prepared weekly meal packs which are then distributed to schools who have identified children in need who are at risk of going hungry. 9 schools in Mount Gambier and Millicent are now receiving support and the grant will support the scaling up of operations into a bigger commercial kitchen to help more children. | $10,000 Stand Like Stone |
Young Change Agents | With a mission of empowering young people to use entrepreneurship as a vehicle for creating social impact, funding will build on existing relationships with students at Mount Gambier High School, Grant High School and Allendale East Area School. | $4,000 Stand Like Stone |
Acoustic Music Gathering
| A newly formed group who are presenting an acoustic music weekend for the Limestone Coast in the new year. The weekend aims to see workshops for over 400 school students and an opportunity to bring the community together. | $10,000 Lorraine Humphreys |
Penola Wellness Group | Support for the “Are you naked and bogged?” mental health awareness sessions for rural men and women, with aim of helping people identify the signs of mental health issues and learn how and where to seek help. | $2,000 Agri-Links |
Millicent Flexible Learning Centre | A grant to support students at the centre in Millicent helping the learning centre tailor personalised and alternative education outcomes to the youth of Millicent. | $819.93 CCW Memorial (Millicent) |
Tandara Retirement Lodge | Completion of renovations for historic Coombe Cottage improving the space available for residents and the wider community. | $4,000 Annette Balnaves |
Sunset Community Kitchen | Support to help the kitchen adapt its delivery model as a result of Covid-19, which has seen meals move to takeaway. | $2,000 Stand Like Stone |
Mount Gambier High School | Support for the “Finding my feet” program, an intervention strategy to help identified ‘at risk’ young people re-engage with schooling to get them back on track with education, introducing them to industry employers and providing them with skills for future transition into work. | $3,000 Focis on Youth |
Dymocks Children’s Charities | Library Regeneration Project at Mt Gambier North Primary School & Melaleuca Park Primary School, providing matched funding for new books to replenish libraries, as well as author experiences for the students. | $10,000 Lorraine Humphreys |
Mount Gambier City Band | Support to upgrade facilities at the City Band Hall with the purchase of new chairs replacing the original chairs from 1965, benefiting all users of the hall including the brass band, concert band, ukulele ensemble and Limestone Coast Symphony Orchestra. | $10,000 Lorraine Humphreys |
Naracoorte Regional Art Gallery | Installing solar panels to provide a green solution and reduce electricity costs, thereby having more money available for community art projects. | $10,000 Lorraine Humphreys |
Naracoorte Country Women’s Association | Replacing the flooring in the SACWA building, making it safer for anyone in the Naracoorte area to use the building.
| $8,992 Naracoorte & Districts Stand Like Stone |
Naracoorte Soroptimists | Funding for a project to help provide personal hygiene and vital toiletries to female students in need at the Naracoorte High School. | $770 Stand Like Stone |
Allendale East Public Hall | Supporting a “Hall for All” project with funding to upgrade the toilets and access to the hall so people in wheelchairs can attend events and function alongside their family and community members. | $10,000 Steven Noble Memorial Stand Like Stone |
Keith Hospital | A grant to support the Keith Hospital Future Fund.
| $2,175.86 Keith Hospital Future Fund |
About Community Foundations
Australia’s community foundations serve a population of approximately 8,500,000 people, operate within 120 Local Government areas and have over $450 million under philanthropic management between them.
Community foundations are place-based, community-led philanthropic organisations. More than 80 per cent of Australia’s 40 community foundations are based in rural and regional Australia, and philanthropic investments through the foundations are directed to benefit the local community each foundation serves.
For more information, see https://www.australiancommunityphilanthropy.org.au/