Greater Charitable Foundation has announced more than $900,0000 in funding to six charity partners as part of its 2018 grant round, bringing the foundation’s total contribution to community groups to more than $8 million since its establishment in 2011.

The foundation’s impact maintains a strong connection to the Hunter, with new partners National Centre for Childhood Grief and Cancer Patients Foundation on board to deliver specific services and tailored programs with a focus on young people and cancer patients across the region.

New foundation partner, Cancer Patients Foundation, provides a free community workshop program, Look Good Feel Better, designed to help cancer patients deal with the physical side effects caused by cancer treatment.

Nicole Jervis, Cancer Patients Foundation Fundraising Manager, said she is grateful for the grant and is excited to put the foundation’s contribution to good use.

“This funding will support the rollout of 25 Look Good Feel Better community workshops, impacting more than 300 cancer patients across the Hunter, Dubbo, Grafton and South Coast regions,” Nicole said.

“The workshops are important in providing patients with a fun and interactive experience that takes them away from the negative experiences associated with their illness, even if only for a couple of hours. It provides them with increased knowledge, confidence and a reignited sense of empowerment, as well as encouraging the development of new support networks and friendships with others facing a similar experience.”

A total of six grant recipients were selected, including both new and previously funded partners, each receiving between $25,000 and $334,000 to deliver crucial services to those in need across the Hunter, regional NSW and South East Queensland.

Greater Charitable Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Anne Long said the foundation is delighted to continue its support of established programs, as well as expand its impact to cover new initiatives operating to fulfil a valuable need in the community.

“We are so proud of how far the foundation has come in the past seven years, especially in terms of the spread of programs we support and the geographical reach our impact is having,” Anne said.

“We were faced with a difficult task, but out of more than 150 applications, the charities we have welcomed on board complement the work of our existing partners in making an impact on the lives of those most vulnerable across the communities in which we operate.”

“Through the process of allocating our annual funding we strive to ensure a variety in the programs we support to enable the greatest possible impact to the greatest number of people in need.”

The foundation’s six new partners will join the ranks of five existing charities who remain under contract to deliver prevention and support programs across the areas of health, youth development, education and research. Clontarf Foundation, McGrath Foundation, OzHarvest and Children’s Hospital Foundation complete the six grant recipients.

IMAGE | Greater Charitable Foundation CEO, Anne Long, with Marianne Wilton, Lyn Walsh and Elizabeth Legovich from newly announced partner Cancer Patients Foundation.