NEARLY $90,000 IN FUNDING WELCOMED

Federal Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, has welcomed the distribution of nearly $90,000 in funding for community groups across the Hawkesbury.

The $87,949 funding pool was allocated under Round Five of the Stronger Communities Grant to benefit 10 community groups from around the region.

Ms Templeman spoke in Parliament on the issue earlier this month, congratulating the groups for their quality applications.

“There has been a lot of talk around grants recently, which left a really bad taste in people’s mouths,” Ms Templeman said.

“These groups work really hard to put together something that they hope is going to be assessed on merit. That’s exactly what we have done with this grants program that the government has asked members of parliament’s offices to administer.

“We looked very seriously at each application to see how it strengthened our community and put a high level of probity around it because we want to make sure that these grants are fair. This is important funding for these community groups, and they want to know that it's a level playing field.

“The fact is that we get way more applications than any of these funds will allow to be distributed. For these Stronger Communities grants, it isn’t surprising to get more than $1 million worth of applications for $150,000 worth of funding.

“When governments step away from providing services, volunteers and the community step in and they need support to do that.”

Among the organisations to receive grants was Windsor Girl Guides, which received a total of $9,000 in funding to repair a roof and install insulation.

“Just before Christmas, I was able to celebrate Windsor Girl Guides' Stronger Communities grant with them at their Christmas party,” Ms Templeman said.

“They needed a new roof. These are the sorts of things that make a difference when it rains or when it hails, and this grant allowed them to complete that work.

“I was also really pleased we were able to give $5,000 to Lowland Wanderers Soccer Club at Richmond for a kitchen upgrade and to improve some of their seating.

“I’ve volunteered there before and I'm looking forward to getting in that new kitchen. The volunteers at that club do an amazing job, and it's really great that these facilities can have an upgrade.

Others groups to receive funding in the Hawkesbury included:

• Hawkesbury District Agricultural Association: $10,000 for amenities upgrade;
• Fitzgerald Aged Care, Windsor: $10,000 for gym equipment upgrade;
• Australian Foundation f