Geelong Community Foundation News
P500 Vote Night
We are excited for this Thursday 18th November when the three shortlisted organisations will pitch for the 2021 P500 grant of $68,000. The pitch event will be held online for donors from 7pm which will include a live Q & A with the organisations. Here’s the pitch videos from the three organisations. ...
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Adroit Annual Charity Golf Day
Adroit Insurance and Risk, along with our community partner the Geelong Community Foundation, will host its 19th Annual Charity Golf Day at 13th Beach Golf Links, Barwon Heads on 17th March 2022. We are proud to say the event has grown to one of the largest in the Geelong fundraising calendar, with teams of...
Read moreGeelong responds in kindness
Geelong donors have responded with open hearts and open wallets to the difficulties that have occurred in our community over the last two years. The Geelong Community Foundation today announced it has received over $1.1m in donations last year, almost double the previous two years combined. The Vice Chairperson, Michael Betts thanked all donors for...
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A break for Mums on the brink
Julia Roache from Geelong Mums knows more than anyone that a child’s car seat is so much more than a piece of equipment. “Having a car seat means parents have a way to get to doctor’s appointments, to see family and friends and to connect with their community,” Julia says. “We’re not changing systematic poverty...
Read more2021 P500 Grant Round Now Open
The 2021 P500 grant of $68,000, being offered in the impact area of community wellbeing across the Geelong region, is now open for applications. Applications close at midnight on 14th September. In 2021, the grant of $68,000 is the largest ever offered in the short five-year history of P500. We are grateful for the record number of donors – 236...
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Community and connection changes lives
When Kaylene Reeves from Norlane Community Initiatives is asked about how her organisation can change lives, she has a powerful story to tell. “Ten years ago, we started working with a family made up of a single mum with six children,” she says. “One of the children was struggling with ADHD and the medication he...
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Students pay it forward
Katrina Reynen from Skyline Education Foundation has spent enough time around students to realise one vital thing. “The students themselves are their own best role models,” she says. “They know that if they can see it, they can be it.” The community organisation provides intensive financial, educational, emotional, and practical support to gifted and academically...
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Providing homes for those in need
The social housing crisis is right here, right now, and it’s urgent. This is the motivation for Roger Hastrich from Sirovilla, an organisation providing affordable housing in the Geelong region, to ensure more is done in our community for low-income older people. Greater Geelong has the second highest rate of homelessness in Victoria, with house...
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At risk youth given a second chance
Eight years ago, Andy Brittain met a young Geelong boy he knew needed help. “He hated life,” Andy says. “He was a victim of family violence, and he was completely disconnected from school and the community. He was very anti police and authority.” A policeman himself at the time, Andy was running programs to support...
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Struggling Families
Even before the pandemic hit, we have a problem with struggling families in our Region. However COVID19 has definitely made things worse. There has been a 20% increase in family violence in Greater Geelong. This was during the 12 month period to September 2020. In addition there has been a 33% increase in breaches of...
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The wonder of compound interest
Albert Einstein is reputed to have said, ‘Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.’ It’s an adage Mike Deam lives by when giving. Mike, his wife Glenys and their two adult children make up the Deam Family Fund, a Geelong Community Foundation sub fund. “I started my investment journey in the 1970’s and...
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Giving made easy for business
Wightons Lawyers has a simple ethos: ‘We’re here to help’. It’s a philosophy that extends to the entire Geelong community. “We’re here to help our clients through the good and bad and to plan for the future,” says Managing Director Justine Finlay, “and we feel the same way about our broader community. We really believe...
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