BACA closure sees funds reinjected back into the Bellarine

A SELECT group of community organisations are now able to give back to the community because of the dissolution of one of the region’s most well-known advocacy groups.

Six selected groups will share in the amount of $36,000 after the Bellarine Aged Care Association (BACA) was dissolved due to various factors.

After BACA endured a year’s hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions, it hosted a small gathering with guest speakers earlier this year from the Bellarine Community Support Register, City of Greater Geelong’s Aged Friendly Initiative, and the local police.

Unfortunately, the event was poorly attended and this, coupled with ongoing COVID-related issues, the BACA had seen a gradual decline in committee members.

Bearing in mind that information on matters relating to ageing on the Bellarine are being covered by other groups, the current committee at BACA decided it was time to close its operations.

In recent months, the final act of BACA has been ensuring that the remaining funds retained by the committee over the years is used to support the older population or groups on the Bellarine. This has been done by dispersing the remaining funds to several community organisations.

The organisations that were selected by BACA were chosen based on their primary work facilitating older individuals’ enjoyment and life enhancement.

These organisations include the Bellarine Community Support Register, Cherished Pets Foundation, Compassionate Hearts on the Bellarine, Pt Lonsdale Uniting Church (Kirk’s Place), Bellarine Parkinson’s Support Group and the Portarlington Lions Village.

Treasurer of the BACA Jackie Chase noted that the primary reason she joined the committee was to help divert the association’s remaining funds as openly, ethically, and transparently back into the community to the residents they were originally intended for.

“I am quite proud that it hasn’t been frittered away, I am happy it has not been used on personal items like lunches at all,” Ms Chase said.

“It is all going back into the community to very worthwhile groups that are operating successfully on the Bellarine.”

BACA has carried out its duties for more than six years ever since forming itself to protect the community’s interests in relation to the proceeds of the sale of Ann Nichol House.

Despite their initial purpose being unsuccessful, BACA then changed course and decided to be a voice for older and frail residents of the Bellarine, through support, advocacy, and health promotion.

But over the years, the Bellarine Peninsula has grown, and other organisations are being formed which appear to meet community needs, therefore BACA’s future had become very limited according to the association.

Compassionate Hearts on the Bellarine is one of the organisations to receive funding from the BACA, supporting people in the region who have life limiting illness with carers in their homes and providing ongoing education to the community around illness, dying and loss.

Chairperson of Compassionate Hearts Pauline Nunan said it was an honour to reinject the funds back into the community.

“We are very grateful to be able to use this money,” Ms Nunan said.

“We’ve also spoken to BACA about using these funds to provide a suitable honorarium to the organisation’s coordinator at appropriate times over the next few years given she’s always worked voluntarily.”

Representative of Bellarine Community Support Register, Jenny Gibbs, also said that these funds will provide numerous benefits to both the Bellarine community and the individuals that her group connects with.

“It will give the community a feeling of safety and security, and we will be able to provide individuals with an ID card that will be connected to families in cases of emergency, as well as more care calls and more time spent with our registrants,” Ms Gibbs said.

For more on BACA’s history over the years, head to bellarineaca.weebly.com.