Grants making a real difference to the community

The Wodonga Cemetery Trust will purchase a utility cart to escort visitors around the cemetery grounds and Wodonga Primary School will host a silent disco, thanks to Wodonga Council’s latest community grants.

Representatives from 13 local community groups, clubs and organisations attended yesterday's morning tea at The Cube Wodonga where they were presented with a certificate and funds.

Wodonga Mayor Ron Mildren congratulated each grant recipient for working to make our community safer, healthier, more vibrant, and more connected.

“I would like to thank each of you for the contribution your organisation, group or club makes to our city,” he said.

Six community organisations were awarded Community Impact Grants that aim to empower groups to grow ideas in an innovative and creative way, as well as look to improve the city.

The first grant was awarded to the Centre Against Violence.

This grant will enable Centre Against Violence to deliver free workshops to local sporting clubs and their members about new affirmative consent laws.

The workshops will provide young people with practical tools on respectful relationships, how to have conversations around affirmative consent and to call out disrespect.

An exciting aspect of the program will be the engagement of a high-profile sports person or current AFL player to deliver the message.

The next recipient was the Albury Wodonga Volunteer Resource Bureau which will use grant funding to roll out an exercise program for older residents of our refugee communities.

The program will offer gentle stretching exercises to promote improved physical health and mental wellbeing for older residents, while also providing social, conversational and support opportunities over morning tea at the end of each session, allowing participants to practice their English-speaking skills.

Albury Wodonga Ultimate Frisbee was also awarded funding for its Border Hat 2023 event to enable the local ‘ultimate frisbee’ community to plan and deliver its main tournament of the year.

The Border Hat is a fun and social two-day event that seeks to attract new players, particularly women, young people, and diverse groups to the sport.

Ultimate Frisbee is a fun and physical activity and an increasingly popular sport in our region, with almost 200 members locally.

The next recipient was the Wodonga Primary School.

The grant will enable the school to host a silent disco for students and parents.

A silent disco is a fun and inclusive event that provides an opportunity for students to come together and connect through the power of music and dance.

The Kiewa Catchment Landcare Group is excited to receive funding to enable Aunty Valda Murray to deliver workshops to primary school children to connect them with local Aboriginal cultural practices and crafts.

The project will involve years five and six children and will include cultural art activities such as weaving, painting and jewellery-making.

The final group awarded a Community Impact Grant was Murray River Fine Music.

In October, Murray River Fine Music will present the Flinders Quartet in its program called ‘Musical Portraits’ at the Bonegilla Migrant Experience Tudor Hall.

Preceding that performance will be a masterclass by members of the Quartet for local student performers.

Under the Community Infrastructure and Equipment Grants program, the council awarded grants to seven successful applicants.

The first was the Trudewind Road Neighbourhood House.

This grant will fund the “Seats 4 Bottoms” project, enabling the House to replace and upgrade seating used by the dozens of volunteers and community members who access their services each week.

Trudewind Road Neighbourhood House provides a vital link into services and social supports for vulnerable residents and this funding will go a long way to ensuring the affordable weekly programs are not only safe but also comfortable.

The next recipient was the Albury Wodonga Mountain Bikers Incorporated for funding for a maintenance container hub at its tracks and facilities on Klings Hill.

The fit-for-purpose storage container will enable the club, its members, and volunteers to store maintenance equipment and resources – such as brush-cutters, tools, and first aid kits – which will improve access, security, and convenience.

The Wodonga Cemetery Trust is excited to use the funding to purchase a utility cart to escort visitors of the cemetery around its large grounds, in any weather condition.

The utility cart will improve the safety and access of the cemetery, especially for some residents such as the elderly or those with mobility needs.

Wodonga Raiders Junior Football Club also received funds for its Next Generation Juniors football program.

This funding will enable the club to purchase much-needed junior sporting goods and equipment to support a new program that aims to transition up to 50 young people from Auskick programs to its junior ranks.

The program will ensure the club can continue to promote inclusion, participation, and healthy lifestyles to Wodonga young people.

Our Native Garden Nursery, a volunteer-run not-for-profit nursery located in Wodonga, will use its funding for new nursery benches.

The benches will be used for storage and the propagation of native plants.

The new equipment will also enable the nursery to recruit more volunteers, accommodate people with disabilities, and develop a social enterprise program.

Another successful applicant was the Wodonga Men’s Shed.

The group will purchase two ceiling-mounted ‘dust extractors’ for their Wodonga workshop which will keep the men, women, and young people who use the shed safer by filtering out dust particles from the air.

The final group to receive funds was the Albury-Wodonga Yacht Club to further improve access for people with a disability to access its facilities and programs, including its popular Sailability program.

The funding will be used to construct a disability parking space and pathways to its club facilities and disability toilets.

These improvements will result in better access and opportunities for participants and support tourism into the city.