26 happy recipients for community grants

COMMUNITY initiatives, projects and events that benefit people in South Gippsland Shire will receive funds from council’s Community Grants Program, with 26 recipients celebrated on Wednesday night.

A total of $130,000 was distributed through Round 1 of the 2022/23 Community Grants Program.

The largest individual grants went to Friends of Mirboo North Swimming Pool for shade sails, and to Leongatha Little Athletics Club for an all-weather jump pit surface upgrade, with each of those projects receiving $10,000.

Mirboo North Pool users will be able to relax beneath the shade sails soon, as the grant has enabled them to be ordered.

Leongatha Little Athletics Club president Ben Cruickshank said the intention is to create a multi-purpose facility.

The planned project includes laying synthetic runway for the long jump and triple jump, with the runway to be lengthened so that it can also be used for hurdles and sprint training.

“It will be able to be used all year round,” Ben said of the surface that will provide grip even in the South Gippsland rain.

“The quality of the surface will help the kids when they go onto Regional and State events,” Ben said.

He noted it is a big adjustment to transition from Leongatha’s current grass runway to the synthetic surfaces elsewhere.

Under the grant stipulation the project must be completed by the end of 2023. 

Leongatha Tennis Club was assigned $9,000 towards its clay court upgrade, with Meeniyan Golf Club also awarded that amount for stage 3 of its Fairways Revolution project.

That was the final stage of a major upgrade of fairways staggered over three years, that involved laying a type of couch grass more suited to golf courses.

A Melbourne company planted the final three hectares of the course on Wednesday and Thursday.

“If it’s well looked after you get very good coverage of those fairways within a year,” Meeniyan Golf Club’s co-president Will Bullock said.

“We were committed to do it whether we received the grant or not, but the grant was a huge help in enabling us to do it in timely fashion.”

Leongatha Lyric Theatre will now be in a position to develop a strategic plan to ensure it maintains its high standards into the future, with a $7,250 grant making that possible.

“For any organisation the size of ours, it’s really important to have a plan for the future,” Lyric Theatre president Bron Beach said.

She considers it crucial to understand what the organisation’s members and the community want, and to develop a plan that takes account of people’s ideas.

“Then we will have a plan for what we want to achieve over the next few years,” Bron said.

She detailed some of the areas in which planning will assist.

“We want to work with council on the proposal for a refurbishment to Memorial Hall and we want to keep putting on great shows and having somewhere to do them,” Bron said of the broad goals a strategic plan will help achieve.

Community Grants are open to not-for-profit, community and volunteer organisations in the following categories:

• Minor Projects and Equipment (up to $5,000)

• Major Projects and Equipment (up to $10,000)

• Planning and Development Reports (up to $10,000)

• Festivals and Events (up to $10,000)

Round 2 of the Community Grants Program opens on January 1, 2023, and closes March 31. 

To assist the community with their applications, a number of drop-in sessions will be held. For more information, please contact Sophie Bolding on 5662 9200 or visit southgippsland.vic.gov.au/grants.

See our website story for the full list of round 1 grant recipients at www.sgst.com.au