CARE grants support local groups

THE One Humanity Shower Bus, Sebastopol Scouts, and Eureka Mums have each received a one-thousand-dollar CARE Grant from Stockland Wendouree, to assist with the groups’ operations.

One Humanity’s funds will go towards more shelving to better stock and store products, and upgrading their bus. Sebastopol Scouts will put their money into buying a rainwater tank to make their hall more sustainable and future proofed, and Eureka Mums will be able to source a mix of prams, cots and car restraints for four to nine disadvantaged families locally.

Danni Trezise of One Humanity Shower Bus said groups like theirs are so grateful for this support.

“Our organisations are all purely run by volunteers and funded by donations and grants that we can get from places like this, and we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without support like this, so it’s fantastic,” she said.

Celebrating the volunteers is important to Stockland Wendouree’s Marketing Manager, Ellie Beer.

“With the Scouts, for example, it’s about the young people that are involved but also their environmental awareness. That’s one of our focusses, sustainability in all areas,” she said.

“What really impressed me with their grant application was that they have a need and having a $1000 rainwater tank, they can actually do a number of things with that to help them reduce their running costs, which is fabulous.”

For Stevie Wright, Stockland Wendouree’s Centre Manager, the grants are all about having “a connectivity to community.

“It’s a marvellous feeling to be able to support their charitable organisations and know that the grants are going to good causes,” she said.

“It’s easy for us to give away money, it’s really much harder for volunteers and people running them to actually go out and do the magnificent volunteer work that they do.”

Stockland CARE Grants have been distributed annually since 2014 in areas surrounding a Stockland centre, providing community groups and organisations with funds to support and assist their cohesive, inclusive and engaging work.

So far in 2019, Stockland has provided grants of up to $1000 to 267 community groups across Australia, and have given over $1.5 million in total over the last five years.