Kyabram SES was one of the lucky recipents of June's round of community grants from the Campaspe Shire Council. Photo: Loddon and Kyabram SES members Rebecca McDonald, Layton Miller, Gail Octigan, Renee Webb, Paul Octigan and Bill Murray.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
A new scoreboard, historical preservation, and volunteer funding are on the cards for this round’s successful Community Grant program applicants.
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In a council meeting held on Tuesday, June 18, the Campaspe Shire Council accepted a list of 15 successful recipients for the first round of the Community Grant program.
The successful community groups in and around Kyabram that received up to $4000 in this round of the grant program include; the Rushworth & District Historical and Preservation Society for the preservation of Rushworth Court House as a community hub; SES Kyabram to assist the campaign of rallying volunteers across the Shire; the Girgarre Development Group to create “discrete” audio recordings for the Girgarre Soundwalk; and St Augustines Football Club to install a new electronic scoreboard at Kyabram Northern Oval.
During the council meeting, Cr Daniel Mackrell said that this round’s recipient pool “is quite diverse” with community groups across Campaspe Shire putting their hands up for grants.
“The community is the lifeblood of our region, so to see 15 of the community groups is really good to see,” Cr Mackrell said.
Cr John Zobec said, “it was wonderful” to see how many community groups reached out.
“And, at the end of the day, it is their money – so good on them for putting their hand up, and congratulations to the groups that got the grants,” Cr Zobec said.
Community resilience coordinator Layton Miller, Kyabram deputy controller Gail Octigan, Loddon operations officer Rebecca McDonald, volunteer Renee Webb, Kyabram controller Paul Octigan and deputy controller of operations Bill Murray.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
The Kyabram SES unit received a grant of $4000 to go towards rallying more volunteers in their upcoming open days.
SES community resilience co-ordinator Layton Miller has spearheaded the efforts in the latest spurt of volunteer drives, and organised the group’s application to the council for the grant.
“I would really like to thank the Campaspe Shire council for supporting VicSES and the volunteers within the Campaspe Shire,” Mr Miller said.
“It’s really good to see that a local government authority has actually been able to support the units.
“It’s great to know that they understand the importance of what we’re doing,” he said.
The Kyabram SES will hold an open day on Saturday, July 27 to attract volunteers ahead of summer - the busiest time for callouts for SES units across the state.
“The great thing about this temporary recruitment cluster campaign is that we’re looking for both operational and non-operational volunteers because we need as many hands as possible,” Mr Miller said.
“The grant we received is going to go towards supporting the radio campaign in hopes that it brings more people out to the open days.”
Mayor Rob Amos urged community groups to submit applications in round two of the program, which will open in August.
“We are excited to be able to help fund so many wonderful ideas and initiatives across the shire and look forward to seeing the results of each application,” Cr Amos said.
“Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a grant application, we appreciate the effort that goes into each submission.”
Funds of $65,511 were available for the program, and $52,204 was allocated to community groups, leaving $13,307 to be assigned to other grant programs for distribution.
The Campaspe Shire Council received 32 applications, approved 15 applications, and referred 10 applications for other grant programs, while five applications were unsuccessful in receiving approval.
The Community Grants program is available in two rounds; the first was advertised in March and is to be officially awarded in July, while the second round is expected to be advertised in August and awarded in December this year.
If you are interested in volunteering with the Kyabram SES, email kyabram@ses.vic.gov.au or visit ses.vic.gov.au/volunteer
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