Yarra Ranges community groups, artists, events, schools, and sporting clubs will share in nearly $500,000 worth of funding from Yarra Ranges Council's 2024 Grants for Community program.
In total, 66 applicants will receive financial support towards their projects, which all fall under categories of either community development, festivals and events or arts and heritage.
Yarra Ranges Lyster Ward Councillor, Johanna Skelton congratulated the successful applicants and said she looks forward to seeing their projects being delivered.
"For a lot of groups, Council funding is a vital part of what they can do to leverage value from their volunteer hours and fundraising," she said.
"These grants are the seeds that allow these possibilities to take place, and it blows me away how many incredible groups and amazing programs there are in the Yarra Ranges."
"The ripple effect of these grants extends far and wide, touching various corners of our community, from arts to education. The broad range of recipients showcases so many enthusiastic groups wanting to do things to better their community."
"There are also more amazing projects proposed than Council can support. The Grants team are available to support those applicants with finding other funding sources too."
The 2024 Community Grants supports groups and organisations to establish, extend and improve programs and services that address local needs and strengthen and enrich community life.
One of those is the Friends of Kalorama, who received funding for their program, Our People and Place, which helps facilitate connections between locals, their community, and the environment.
President Alex Grunwald said the grant will go toward helping connect people with their community after the 2021 June Storm.
"The project began in the aftermath of the significant storm event we experienced in 2021, and it's all about fostering connections between people and nature while providing a sense of community."
"We've been organising practical events, such as walks and talks on ecology, social gatherings, and even artistic activities and we've found that connecting people to nature and showing them how our landscape is recovering has played a crucial role in helping build resilience."
"These grants are fundamental to our work. Without them, we couldn't hold events like family days or support the nature-based art scholarship that we offer to local primary schools."
Among the successful grant recipients, Mooroolbark Community Graden received funding to establish a communal food garden in the activity centre, activating underutilised public land to deliver broad community benefits.
Freedom Healesville received funding for a project that allows primary-aged children to connect through craft activities, cooking and practicale life skills, while the Ranges Academy of Performing Arts received a grant for their three-day Lantern and Light International Children's Film Festival in Belgrave.
On the sporting front, Woori Yallock Football Club received funding for their project "Bring back the Volunteers," which aims to address the declining number of volunteers due to the impact of Covid.
