$37,000 Boost for Twelve Darling Downs Charities

Twelve charities in the Toowoomba region will receive funds totalling $37,327 to help them continue to provide vital services for our local community. 

As part of the Queensland Community Foundation’s (QCF) annual grants program, the local sub-fund, the Toowoomba Regional Community Fund, today announced grants to assist a variety of local projects.

Toowoomba Regional Community Fund chair Joy Mingay said she was pleased the sub-fund was able to provide these grants to local groups who are working hard to help others in need.

“At the end of the day, it’s these charities and not-for-profits that are in the best position to identify and respond to local needs and we are just delighted to be able to help them provide these vital services to our community,” she said.   

“The pool of applicants this year was the strongest yet, so it is more important than ever that we as a community continue to build this fund to meet the needs of our local charities.  I’d encourage people to ‘give where you live’ and help support the Toowoomba Regional Community Fund.” 

Ms Mingay said donations and bequests to the QCF for the Toowoomba Regional Community Fund are carefully managed and prudently invested to help build the capital of the Fund, with the income distributed to charities in the Toowoomba region through the grant program to create a valuable and sustainable source of funding for the greater good of the community.  

The grant recipients announced today were:   

• Ability Enterprises – $5,000 to enable Café Abuzz to purchase a commercial fridge and freezer. 

Ability Enterprises is a not-for-profit, social enterprise whose mission is to provide employment opportunities for people who have lived experiences of mental health, which has resulted in them having barriers to employment.   

• Toowoomba Hospice – $5,000 to upgrade carpet within the administration building of the Toowoomba Hospice.  The objective is to provide an immediate calming and welcoming environment to all those who come to the Hospice.

The Toowoomba Hospice provides safe, quality palliative and respite care. 

• PCYC – $5,000 to help deliver the Child Safety Pantomime. The pantomime is held at the Empire Theatre during Child Protection Week. 

The Toowoomba PCYC is an established club which has a vast number of activities and services for the community.  The mission of the PCYC is to get young people active in life.

• Sunrise Way – $3,000 toward constructing an undercover gym area to house donated equipment.  During the six months that clients live at Sunrise Way and participate in the rehabilitation program, they are provided with a holistic program that includes nurturing physical health as well as emotional and spiritual wellbeing.   

Sunrise Way is a not-for-profit rehabilitation service that helps individuals living with addiction to rebuild their lives. 

• Care Goondiwindi – $3,000 to create a pop-up shop to distribute donated food, grocery items, fruit and vegetables from Care Goondiwindi’s premises as part of the Foodbank program.  The Foodbank – Healthy Food Project operates in partnership with SecondBite.  Care Goondiwindi runs this project with volunteers every Tuesday and Friday morning.

Care Goondiwindi is a multi-service centre which offers families and individuals within a 200km radius of Goondiwindi support, with the delivery of numerous programs. 

• Cancer Patients Foundation - $3,000 for the Look Good Feel Better program.  This program is dedicated to teaching cancer patients how to manage the appearance-related side-effects caused by cancer treatment. 

Look Good Feel Better is a free national community service program run by the Cancer Patient Foundation. 

• Warwick State Emergency Services - $2,812 for plant room lighting.  The current plant room’s lighting system has limitations. They are seeking to replace them with LED lights which are more cost and energy efficient and have a whiter light, improving visibility and therefore safety in the work area. 

Warwick SES support emergency & disaster response operations in the Southern Downs Regional Council area, respond to requests for assistance throughout the region and deploy taskforces throughout Queensland and interstate. 

• Civic Community Services – $2,700 to go toward installing glass doors for the Fresh Cuts program.  Fresh Cuts provide free haircuts to primarily women and children exiting or escaping domestic violence.  Haircuts provide an immediate change, transforming outward appearance and inward sense of value and worth. 

Civic Community Services is a not-for-profit charity that coordinates a number of services, programs, appeals and initiatives.

• Toowoomba Clubhouse - $2,500 for an electronic whiteboard that will be used for their Education and Employment program and other initiatives. 

Toowoomba Clubhouse is an organisation dedicated to supporting adults with a lived experience of mental illness. 

• Cystic Fibrosis Queensland – $2,250 to provide a subsidy for eligible Cystic Fibrosis families living in Toowoomba to engage in a social activity of their choice that will help them reconnect with the community, overcome their sense of isolation and reduce their social disadvantage.

Cystic Fibrosis Queensland advocates, funds research, and provides support services for people with Cystic Fibrosis.

• Toowoomba Hospital Foundation - $2,000 to provide dignity care packs for patients in need. 

Toowoomba Hospital Foundation fundraises to provide the Toowoomba Hospital, Baillie Henderson Hospital, Mt Lofty Heights Nursing Home and local health services with equipment, staff development, research and scholarships. 

• Hope Horizons – $1,065 to provide permanent street facing signage which will help patients and visitors find the centre, and increase awareness of the centre to the general public. 

Hope Horizons’ mission is to enhance the quality of life for people in the local region throughout and after their cancer diagnosis. 

Ability Enterprises CEO Tracey Scanlan said she was pleased to be able to host today’s Toowoomba Regional Community Fund grant presentations at Café Abuzz.

“Ability Enterprises operates Café Abuzz at Baillie Henderson Hospital.  This is our first venture into hospitality, and we’re proud of what we’re achieving so far through the ongoing commitment of our staff, together with the support of the management and staff of Darling Downs Health who have provided us with this fantastic opportunity,” she said.

“We’re very grateful to the Toowoomba Regional Community Fund for providing us with this grant which will allow us to purchase a commercial fridge and freezer for the café.  With this grant, we can continue to grow the café and offer employment to additional people with barriers to employment.”

To help build the capacity of the Toowoomba Regional Community Fund and find out how you can ‘give where you live’ contact QCF on 07 3360 3854 or email [email protected]. 

All donations are tax-deductible. 

Missed today's show? Catch up here!

Catch up on today's headlines and download the Hit app here: iOS | Android