Three charities recently received a welcome start to 2015, sharing in $155,000 in additional funding from a Hunter-based business’ charitable foundation.

Greater Charitable Foundation CEO Anne Long provided additional funding to three current charity partners – Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia), Starlight Children’s Foundation and Cerebral Palsy Alliance – to allow them to continue to help improve the lives of local people.

“The Foundation provides significant amounts of funding to its charity partners over an extended period of time to help them develop, trial and establish innovative projects that improve the lives of families in our community,” Anne said.

“It is important for businesses to give back to strengthen the communities in which they operate.”

Aspect will use its funding to help an additional 40 families with newly diagnosed children under its Early Intervention Readiness Program (EIRP). The Foundation provided $300,000 to fund the pilot of the program at Aspect’s school in Thornton 2011. This additional funding will bring the total donated to Aspect’s EIRP program to almost $500,000.

Cerebral Palsy Alliance will use the funding to run its 2015 Emerge leadership program for young adults from the Hunter and Central Coast with cerebral palsy and other related disabilities.

Starlight will use its funding to continue to deliver its Captain Starlight program to seven hospitals (including, John Hunter and Maitland hospitals) in regional NSW and Gold Coast University Hospital, as well as Wish granting programs until June 2015. Last year Starlight was able to bring a smile to more than 4,000 kids during 28 hospital visits.

The Greater Charitable Foundation is funded from the profits of the Greater Building Society.

“The Foundation has provided more than $4 million in funding since its inception in 2011 and we will call for expressions of interest for our annual funding round next month (February 2015),” Anne continued.

“In addition, Greater staff will continue to volunteer for the Foundation’s charity partners. Volunteering benefits the charity and the people it supports but we also benefit from the experience of giving back.”

Last year, 230 Greater staff volunteered almost 500 hours.

Other partners currently funded by the Foundation include Father Chris Riley’s Youth off the Streets, YWCA NSW and Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI).

Image | Greater staff members and their mentess at the graduation celebration of the last Emerge Leadership program