Six charities, and the people they help, will benefit from more than $800,000 in new funding from the foundation of a leading Hunter-based business.

Greater Charitable Foundation CEO Anne Long said the funding has gone to a mix of new partners and projects as well as continuing funding for existing partners’ projects that improve the lives of families in the Hunter, regional NSW and the Gold Coast.

Camp Quality has received $128,000 for its Child Life Therapy Program at Newcastle’s John Hunter Children’s Hospital.

Current charity partner Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) will use an additional $320,000 to operate its Early Intervention Readiness Program  for families of children newly diagnosed on the autism spectrum in Port Macquarie for the first time as well expand the program in the Hunter. The Foundation funded the pilot of the program in the Hunter.

Cerebral Palsy Alliance has received another $98,500 to deliver its mentoring programs for teenagers and young adults with cerebral palsy in the Hunter and Central Coast regions.

Starlight Children’s Foundation will use an extra $110,000 to introduce regular visits by Captain Starlight to Taree Hospital for the first time as well as continue the diversional therapy program visits in eight other hospitals in the Hunter (Maitland and John Hunter), North Coast, New England Central Coast and Gold Coast.  This takes the total funding from the Foundation to Starlight to almost $700,000 over four years.

Other charities working in regional NSW to benefit are the Raise Foundation and The Sir David Martin Foundation.

Anne said this funding follows on from a special additional funding allocation of $155,000 in January this year to three current partners – Aspect, Starlight Children’s Foundation and Cerebral Palsy Alliance ‚Äì to continue providing their unique services to regional communities.

Three other current charity partners are continuing to benefit from current Foundation funding – Hunter Medical Research Institute, Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Streets and YWCA NSW.

Anne said that an important part of the Foundation’s support for its partners and the community, is co-ordinating opportunities for Greater Building Society staff to volunteer with those partners.

“The Greater Charitable Foundation provides significant amounts of funding to its charity partners over an extended period of time to help develop, trial and establish innovative projects that provide long term benefits to the community,” Anne said.

The funding was given out a ceremony in Newcastle on Friday, 7 August 2105. The function was attended by Greater Charitable Foundation Chairman Ian Nelmes, Greater Building Society Chairman Wayne Russell and Greater Building Society CEO Scott Morgan, as well as the CEOs, staff and some of the people supported by the charities.

“We heard some powerful stories from people whose lives had been improved by the fantastic work of these charities,” Anne said.

The Greater Charitable Foundation was established in 2011 and is funded from the profits of the the Greater Building Society. The Foundation has committed almost $5 million to 14 charitable organisations since inception.

Image | Charity CEOs celebrate receiving funding from the Greater Charitable Foundation