Oct 29, 2021 | 0 comments

 

 

Media Release

Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen and Minister for Public Works and Procurement

The Honourable Mick de Brenni

 

 

Seeking not-for-profits for powerful grants

Queensland community groups working on disaster, social, economic, and mental health resilience projects are being encouraged to apply for a part of the $100,000 Ergon-Energex Community Fund.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said the $100,000 pool from Queensland’s publicly-owned electricity distributors offered not-for-profit groups the opportunity to apply for up to $10,000 each. 

“Ergon and Energex are particularly seeking applicants who are working to make a difference in terms of disaster and emergency resilience but any not-for-profit group doing great work in the Queensland is encouraged to apply,” Mr de Brenni said.

“These grants worth $10,000 each will hopefully go a long way in kickstarting worthwhile community projects and it’d be great to see those who work hard for the benefit of others get their ventures off the ground.”

In previous years, the Ergon-Energex Community Fund has made a world of difference to groups providing programs that support vulnerable Queenslanders.

For groups like Young Diggers, a grant can transform and even save lives.

Young Diggers rescues, trains and matches companion dogs with former Australian Defence Force personnel with PTSD.

“It takes a lot of time and funding to train these dogs and with the help of initiatives like the Community Fund we look forward to continuing our service to those who have served the country,” Young Diggers General Manager Terry Bell said.

One ex-soldier described their therapy dog as “the reason to get out of bed – he saved my life”.

Another previously successful recipient group was Cycling Without Age (CWA), which provides people with limited mobility free rides as a passenger on specially designed three wheeled trishaw bicycle ridden by a CWA volunteer ‘pilot’. 

Wayne Stitcher leads the group of CWA volunteers on the Gold Coast and said, “The Ergon-Energex Community Fund helped us lay the foundations of CWA and grow on the success it provided.”

“It allowed us to expand our services and now we’re busy every day getting people, who may otherwise not be able to leave home, out into the fresh air and cycling through beautiful locations,” Mr Stitcher said.

The funding also assisted organisations such as Help Enterprises who train people with disabilities to provide meals to the needy, along with Little Souls Taking Big Steps to upgrade the organisation’s facilities to create a sensory-safe facility for children on the Autism spectrum and the Gracemere scouts to upgrade the scout den facilities to allow wheelchair access for the local community.

“Ergon and Energex are proud to support a wide range of projects that make Queensland communities safer, smarter, stronger and better places to be,” Mr de Brenni said.

Applications for the 2021 Ergon-Energex Community Fund open on Monday, 25 October and close on Friday, 19 November. 

For more information or to apply visit www.energex.com.au/communityfund or www.ergon.com.au/communityfund

 ENDS

 Further information: Dan Knowles 07 4124 2526