Groups hail golf club’s grants

A QUARTET of clubs on the Bellarine Peninsula are celebrating after their applications to the Clifton Springs Golf Club’s Community Contribution Fund (CCF).

Each year, the club invites local community groups and sporting clubs to apply for a share in $10,000 to put towards existing programs or to fast-track facility improvements.

Clifton Springs Golf Club hosted a morning tea on Friday last week to announce this year’s CCF recipients:

• Clifton Springs Tennis Club – $6,000
• Drysdale Soccer Club – $2,900
• Clifton Springs Bowls Club – $1,100
• St Leonards Bowls Club – $500

Representatives of all four groups thanked the golf club for their financial assistance.

Barry Oswald from the Clifton Springs Bowls Club said the CCF grant was the latest example of the great relationship between his club and the golf club in recent years.

“We appreciate what they do, these donations have really helped our sort of club to do the things we want to do.

“Without their support, we would really struggle.”

Peter Garlick from the St Leonards Bowls Club said the CCF money would be of great help.

“We’ve already got something earmarked for this which will hopefully help us keep some of our longer-serving members in the game a bit longer.”

Louise Hardy from the Drysdale Soccer Club said her club was putting a lot of time into its junior members.

“To be able to invest in the little ones – this is where there are future sports players in every area – so what this brings to us to be able to invest in them and provide them with the right equipment and facilities makes a huge difference for growth and retention.”

Clifton Springs Golf Club president Phil Smith congratulated this year’s successful recipients, and encouraged the other applicants to try again in 2023.

“We’re very privileged to and proud to give away this amount of money every year, we try to concentrate on local groups, local non-profit sporting organisations,” he said.

“It’s a part of what we’re about here. We’re a community group and we try to encourage the community down here; we’re hard at work expanding the facilities at the moment to try to give you even more scope to come down for a meal or entertainment or what have you.

“We’re striving to become a community centre again and we’re working very hard at it.”

In 2021, the CCF provided support to the Clifton Springs Community Men’s Shed to assist in the construction of the Men’s Shed, and also supported the Wallington Cricket Club with the purchase of uniforms for their new women’s cricket team. Other clubs received support to upgrade facilities for their members.