Grant taking Register to the web

THE Bellarine Community Support Register (BCSR) is taking a modern step forward thanks to a $12,500 grant from Geelong Community Foundation.

The grant will assist the Ocean Grove-based organisation transfer 1,400 paper documents to an online database, which BCSR hopes will active by the end of the year.

BCSR is a free and voluntary service that securely maintains contact and personal information of Bellarine residents that police can access during an emergency to help expedite treatment.

All registrant information files have been held securely at Ocean Grove Police Station.”This funding will help us plan, with certainty, the next steps in the changes to our office procedures,” BCSR chairperson Leonie Saundry said.

“We’ll be more confident with this funding than we were without it, so it’s very important and vital to the future of the organisation.”

BCSR relies on donations and has been using pro-bono services from Grovedale-based computer support company Utilitise IT to get the database up and running.

Ms Saundry said the foundation’s funding will go towards the implementation of Utilitise IT’s new database system Safeguard, as well as volunteer training.

“When you’re relying on the good will of people in companies who have other clients, you rely on their availability and their capacity to work on the system, but this will help us move that along a little bit,” Ms Saundry said.

“The differences the new internet database will have range from a more environmentally friendly approach to how we run things.

“It will certainly have a different security than we’ve had and in the past and it will provide a more efficient service in general for our registrants.”

The Geelong Community Foundation allocated a record $1.26 million into the community during the 2022/23 financial year for projects and programs being delivered by local community organisations.

Geelong Community Foundation CEO Gail Rodgers said the foundation has been focusing on a range of different areas that its grants can help make an impact.

“Our focus this year has been on addressing key areas of disadvantage, mental health, domestic violence, education and training, social isolation, drug and alcohol support, preventative programs, and housing needs. These are all key issues in our community,” Ms Rodgers said.

“The sobering aspect to all of this is we had nearly $3 million in grant applications, clearly the need is great in our region.”

For more information, head to www.bellarineregister.org.au