Round 2 funded activities

The successful recipients from Round 2 of the Empowering our Communities grants are summarised below:

BEGA VALLEY

Sapphire Life Opportunities Ltd: Eden Kids Club - Delivered over a 12 month period this weekly after school program will include outdoor games, craft activities, and group discussions aimed at promoting positive engagement with peers and adults. The program provides children and families with the opportunity to connect in a fun, safe and supportive environment.

Wellways: Community Wellness Activities - A series of events that will bring the local communities in Bega and Eden together to showcase what mental health services are available. Wellways will work collaboratively with other services to link individuals to available services, provide community education on managing stress and assist with reducing stigma.

COOMA MONARO

Crop Tour of the Monaro – To provide an opportunity for farmers of the Monaro region to regroup, share experiences and support each other following the recent bushfire event. The activity will bring together community members of the Monaro region and will feature a ‘crop tour’ of local farms; with young and old, female and male farmers, the event aims to provide a social gathering for the farmers after both the bushfires and COVID-19 restrictions.

EUROBODALLA

The Family Place: Mindfulness and Meditation Groups - A six week program incorporating gentle stretching, visualisation techniques, breathing and mindfulness. Qualified staff will be on hand to care for children under the age of six in the Family Play Room if needed. This program will provide families the opportunity to share, connect and debrief around the impacts of drought. Participants will be able to support each other in learning these new skills and connect as parents of children who are also facing the same challenges.

Eurobodalla Shire Council: Eurobodalla Farmers Dinner - A wellbeing dinner event that will bring the local farming communities in the Eurobodalla region together to talk and build connections with the aim of promoting wellbeing and improving the mental health of local farmers within the region.

GOULBURN MULWAREE

Regional Development Australia Southern Inland: Southern Inland Agriculture Gala Dinner 2020 - A formal sit down dinner event featuring two guest speakers and held in Goulburn. This event aims to celebrate the contribution agriculture makes to the economy and provide an opportunity for farmers and the community to come together. The focus of the evening will be on resilience and the importance that communicating and connecting during hard times can have on maintaining positive mental health.

Anglicare NSW South: Positive Living Skills Wellbeing Initiative - Lifetime licences of the Positive Living Skills wellbeing program will be purchased to support the children, educators and families of four Anglicare early learning centres within the Goulburn and Marulan areas: Goulburn Family Day Care, Goulburn Early Childhood Centre, Orana Preschool and Marulan Preschool.

GUNNING

Gunning District Community and Health Service: Gunning and District Gentlemen’s Lunch - A men's lunchtime event aimed at relieving some of the stress and anxiety in the local drought affected community. The lunch will provide a safe environment for people who are going through similar experiences with professionals on hand to discuss and educate the group on mental health resilience, managing stress, anxiety and depression.

Gunning District Landcare: Landcare for the future - A school holiday activity to engage children and young people in the Gunning District to learn about the natural environment, and to become the Landcare members of the Future. Activities are designed around experiential learning to enhance the participants' knowledge of, and instil a lifelong commitment to, conservation, care and regeneration of the land. Activities will focus on building the young people's resilience, and demonstrating the benefits of the natural environment on physical and mental health.

UPPER LACHLAN

Upper Lachlan Landcare: Building Community Support Networks in Upper Lachlan - A series of events including three grazier meetings and one fit farmer event to support the local community by building stronger supportive networks. These networks will have the potential to increase awareness of good mental health practices as well as improving resilience amongst the community.

Gunning District Association: Upper Lachlan Active Villages 2 - This activity will see local personal trainers engaged to deliver a 10 week group program demonstrating the correct usage of recently installed outdoor gym equipment in the villages of Collector, Crookwell, Dalton, Gunning and Taralga. The programs will provide participants with the skills to undertake regular physical activity aimed at improving their mental health and building resilience. Participants will have the opportunity to learn new skills, enhance social connections and develop coping strategies to assist with manage stress.

WHOLE REGION

Pa2health: 4 Week Community Wellbeing Program - Pa2health will provide preventative mental and physical health solutions for individuals through the coordination of a four week wellbeing program. This FREE program will utilise accessible technology and will be available to 550 residents in communities across South Eastern NSW. Individuals will have access to recipes, meal ideas and shopping lists, guided relaxations to improve sleep and combat stress, and exercise routines for all levels of fitness.