Abbott Foundation back local groups

THREE Bendigo organisations have just been granted a combined total of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars for their community projects.

The funding comes via the Frances and Harold Abbott Foundation which seeks annually distribute between $5000 and $40,000 to successful applicants locally each year.

The 2023 recipients are ARC Justice, Bendigo and District Aboriginal Cooperative, and Bendigo Health.

Each group will receive $40,000 with ARC using the money on family violence support, BADC seeking to back a gathering space initiative, and Bendigo Health putting the money towards an outdoor paediatric rehabilitation play space.

ARC Justice assists central Victorians with free legal support to those who cannot afford a lawyer or are otherwise unable to receive legal aid.

The funding will be put towards a partnership with Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre and Centre for Non-Violence Bendigo to improve safety and access to justice for women experiencing domestic violence.

BDAC’s grant will support a covered outdoor gathering area at its main campus to be built alongside a new medical precinct next year for Indigenous peoples.

The money for Bendigo Health will be used for developing a rehabilitation play space, particularly for paediatric patients, to be used as part of treatment, therapy, and rehabilitation sessions.

The Frances and Harold Abbott Foundation is valued at more than $4 million and generally grants a total of $120,000 each year to groups in Bendigo and the wider Loddon Mallee region.

The foundation is the legacy of local businessman Harold Athelstane Abbott who passed away in 1979, and his wife Frances who died in 1961, and is managed by Equity Trustees.