24 July 2013

The first 25 of Canberra's '100' Heroes grants

| Barcham
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The ‘100 Heroes’ campaign is an initiative by the the Calwell, Curtin, Jerrabomberra, and Wanniassa Community Bank branches to coincide with the bank’s 10th anniversary.

100 community groups were nominated to each receive their share of $100,000.

Here’s the first 25 winners:

1. Salvation Army
To purchase crafts for kids’ activities in the Mainly Music program.

2. Able Australia
To assist with the installation of remote door openers to allow people with wheelchairs to access their homes.

3. ACT Chinese Australian Association
This grant will assist the ACT Chinese Australian Association who, in their 25th year, intend to hold a series of basic Tai Chi classes for its Senior members.

4. ACT Volunteer Brigades Association
For the production of Wattle Day badges, which will be sold to fund a training program that focuses on raising awareness of support of those with mental health issues.

5. Australian Railway Historical Society
To install fences around the Society’s Museum in Kingston, so as to prevent members of the public being harmed by moving locomotives.

6. Breast Friends Canberra Friendship Group
Activities for a young woman with cancer who cannot afford such luxuries, as she spends all her money on medical costs.

7. Brindabella Blues Soccer Club
To purchase new jerseys and training equipment for this Tuggeranong-based soccer club.

8. Calwell Early Childhood Centre
The building of a new sustainable “Natural Environment” outdoor area, which will be used to teach the children about preserving natural resources.

9. Calwell Swans Junior Football Club
The purchase of training equipment for this local AFL team such as ground marker cones, temporary goal posts, team bibs and balls.

10. Diabetes ACT
To assist with running the World Diabetes Day event on 14 November 2013, to raise awareness of Diabetes in the ACT, where over 14,000 people live with diabetes.

11. Diversity ACT
To assist with the Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, Transgendered and Intersex community with running a course with Lizzie Wagner on bettering themselves for job employment.

12. Friends of Brain Injured Children
To help with FBIC workshops, which help to further educate brain injured children.

13. Habitat for Humanity ACT & Region
Is part of the “Brush with Kindness” program to assist a very low-income family with special needs to stay in their own home and improve living and safety conditions within their home.

14. Kairos Outside
Will help to run the Kairos Outside annual weekend program for women impacted by someone close to them being in prison.

15. Kulture Break
To assist in funding the Man Up and Ladies First Programs. Both are dance mentoring programs that are aimed at risk prevention and re-engagement for young males, as well as confronting challenging social and self-image issues for young women.

16. Lake Tuggeranong Rowing Club
To assist in the purchase of a new motor for the Rowing Clubs new safety boat.

17. Luke Carmichael Exercise Group
To purchase group equipment for a free class for families, helping them create positive role models for children.

18. Missing School
To make the “Keeping Seriously Sick Kids Connected” event possible, which seeks to raise awareness for the educational needs of kids with serious medical conditions.

19. Olivia Lambert Foundation
For the Dance4Olivia 24 hour dance-a-thon, which raises funds to provide families with financial assistance due to the impact of having a child with cancer.

20. Project Independence
To assist in the payment of costs associated with Project Independence being registered as a community housing project, which helps those with disabilities live independently.

21. St Francis of Assisi Primary School
To help run the annual St Francis of Assisi Primary School Fete, which last year raised $25,000 to construct a multipurpose sports surface. The funds raised this year will go to updating sports equipment and the school grounds.

22. St Vincent de Paul Society
To support the Centenary Sleepout, which will be the first Community CEO Sleepout held in conjunction with Communities@Work.

23. Veterans Corps Incorporated
Funds will be used to hold an Art Show for veterans that use art as a creative outlet for afflictions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Physical War Injuries. The art will be auctioned off to provide funds to support rehabilitation programs for veterans in the ACT region.

24. Valley FM
To assist in the development of the radio station to allow for webstreaming of programs.

25. Wattle Day Association
To assist in fundraising for the Volunteer Bushfire fighters of the ACT for much needed equipment, training and support.

Congratulations to all.

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TheBusDriver5:39 pm 26 Jul 13

Fliponout said :

Stuff, then…
Finally in reference to the first comment, Diversity ACT is an organisation that welcomes and is open to all LGBTIQ persons, as well as heterosexual friends and allies. Our members and clients come from many backgrounds and walks of life, and Diversity ACT certainly doesn’t try to act as a centre for gay men alone. However if we’re doing something wrong we would welcome feedback so we can improve our centre, and make it more welcoming to other LGBTIQ groups.

More information about Diversity ACT is available on our website: http://www.diversityact.org.au/

No, it is a gay club. It does not welcome lesbians, transgendered or Intersex according to people I have talked to.
I asked a few gay and lesbian friends about your gay club. You have 8 gay men and 2 lesbian women on your board from what I have been told. No transgendered or intersex.
You engauge gay men by advertising in gay magazines such as Fuse. You don’t do much to enguage lesbians. You do nothing to engauge transgendered or intersex.
You provide “lots” of services for gay men. Some services for lesbian women, and nothing for anyone else.
None of them could remember any transgender or intersex people accessing your services at all.
So yeah, gay club. Prove me wrong with stats.

Now, I don’t have a problem at all with money going to GLBTIQ. Not an issue with that. I do have an issue with an agency getting money claiming to be for GLBTIQ and spending it all on G and L with a ting fraction on L. It is like giving money to Aboriginal and Torrest Strait Islander organisations then totally ignore the Torres Strait Islanders. If you get paid to engauge everyone, bloody well do it.

So yes, gay club until you prove otherwise. What are you doing for lesbians, for transgender, for intersex and for bi and queer? What are you doing to try get a better balance of non gays on your board? What services are you aiming exclusivly at lesbians or exclusivly at trans? Because I know you aim some exclusivly at gays.

BerraBoy68 said :

Odd – absolutely!. I wonder if St Francis of Assisi Primary School disclosed on their application form that as a school run by the Catholic Eduction Office, half of the money they raise at the fete each year has to go to their local parish (i.e the priest) – it doesn’t benefit the school’s grounds at all. And I seriously doubt that St Francis made $50,000 at last years fete. Their application might be a tad misleading. In fact, many parents who send their kids to Catholic Primary schools aren’t aware of how the funds raised through their hard work in organising and running the annual fete is actually diverted to the church.

What proof can you offer to support that statement beyond your obvious bias?

Baggy said :

Fliponout said :

Diversity ACT is a community service that was set up to help lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) Canberrans. /

Can someone please, please please tell me why the definitions keep expanding? lesbians are gay, are they not? So take out the L. B and T seem fair enough. I, wtf. and Q, isn’t that covered by G??

gee whiz…

I is for intersex, which is a person born with traits from both sexes. It’s a thing, regardless of how you feel about it.

Q is for questioning, so it’s not covered by G.

As for L being the same as G… Well the term gay is kinda like the term guy. It can be used for both genders, but typically it’s only used for men. Gay men and lesbian women are not the same thing and thus get different definitions when we’re discussing sexual identity.

The definitions keep expanding because people are striving to become more tolerant and accepting of each other, instead of just calling everyone who is different to themselves a queer and being done with it.

KNOWLEDGE!

Fliponout said :

Diversity ACT is a community service that was set up to help lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) Canberrans. /

Can someone please, please please tell me why the definitions keep expanding? lesbians are gay, are they not? So take out the L. B and T seem fair enough. I, wtf. and Q, isn’t that covered by G??

gee whiz…

On behalf of the Diversity ACT Board, we thought it might be useful to respond to this post given the interest from some commenters questioning what this grant is for of it it is being misused for another organisation, or else crawling out from under a rock to tell everyone what they think of gay people.

Diversity ACT is a community service that was set up to help lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) Canberrans. While the majority of LGBTIQ Canberrans live happy and fulfilling lives, a number of volunteers saw the need to develop an organisation to help out those needing extra assistance, as well as those who needs fall through the cracks or aren’t catered to by mainstream community services.

As part of this, our organisation was approached by Canberra stylist and trainer Lizzie Wagner, who has volunteered to run a program to help vulnerable LGBTIQ individuals build up their confidence, interview and presentation skills, and so increase their chances of gaining employment.

This grant helps offset some of the costs involved in running these classes, and we are extremely grateful to Bendigo Bank for supporting Diversity ACT and this venture.

By running this program we hope to make a difference to the lives of many disadvantaged LGBTIQ individuals, who are struggling to find work because of low self-esteem and other social issues. I’m sure all readers can appreciate how important having a job is for a person’s sense of self-worth and wellbeing, and that by helping individuals gain employment we can help them develop the confidence and resilience to participate as an active member of the community.

Finally in reference to the first comment, Diversity ACT is an organisation that welcomes and is open to all LGBTIQ persons, as well as heterosexual friends and allies. Our members and clients come from many backgrounds and walks of life, and Diversity ACT certainly doesn’t try to act as a centre for gay men alone. However if we’re doing something wrong we would welcome feedback so we can improve our centre, and make it more welcoming to other LGBTIQ groups.

More information about Diversity ACT is available on our website: http://www.diversityact.org.au/

Here_and_Now said :

Roundhead89 said :

and as for transgendered, do they need the money to buy feather boas?

I’m trying to discern the origin of this comment too. Either…

A) You genuinely believe that the sole difference between transgendered and non-transgendered people is that the former have a want or need for feather boas and they find this a financial difficulty. In which case, I understand that the nature of the word ‘transgender’ must be confusing for you, as it refers neither to fashion accessories nor plumage. I can alleviate this for you by assuring you this is not the case. You’re welcome.

B) You do not suffer under the misapprehension described in my previous point but nonetheless thought it would ‘incredibly funny’, possibly some manner of ‘sick burn’, to express a link between gender permeability and fluffy scarves and imply that that is the sole resource or assistance transpeople may need (though it is not so, as already explained). You conceived of your remark, then made a considered decision on whether, if you shared it, the world would be the better for your doing so. And now, as you go through the many long days of your life, you are satisfied that your net happiness is greater than had you not posted to the internet that comment about transgendered people and feather boas. It shall no doubt be an anecdote you share with great pride, hoping it will be passed down any descendents you may have, whose enjoyment will no doubt be multiples of your own should they also be transgendered themselves.

Can’t wait for the in depth version of this analysis…

21. St Francis of Assisi Primary School
To help run the annual St Francis of Assisi Primary School Fete, which last year raised $25,000 to construct a multipurpose sports surface. The funds raised this year will go to updating sports equipment and the school grounds.

Does anyone else find it odd that they are getting money to help stage an event that made, errr… $25 grand last year?

Odd – absolutely!. I wonder if St Francis of Assisi Primary School disclosed on their application form that as a school run by the Catholic Eduction Office, half of the money they raise at the fete each year has to go to their local parish (i.e the priest) – it doesn’t benefit the school’s grounds at all. And I seriously doubt that St Francis made $50,000 at last years fete. Their application might be a tad misleading. In fact, many parents who send their kids to Catholic Primary schools aren’t aware of how the funds raised through their hard work in organising and running the annual fete is actually diverted to the church.

I think giving this school $1000 also establishes a precedent that any school wishing to run a fete should now be successful in getting a grant. I can’t see how they can favour one school on this over the dozens of others who will apply, unless of course the deciding authority has kids at St Francis.

Deref said :

21. St Francis of Assisi Primary School
To help run the annual St Francis of Assisi Primary School Fete, which last year raised $25,000 to construct a multipurpose sports surface. The funds raised this year will go to updating sports equipment and the school grounds.

Does anyone else find it odd that they are getting money to help stage an event that made, errr… $25 grand last year?

Yes. I also find it abhorrent that the government is giving money to the wealthiest corporation on the planet.

It’s not the Government… it’s an initiative from the community bank who aim to put up to 80% of their profits straight back into the local community in the form of grants and sponsorships.

They just happened to decide to celebrate Canberra’s Centenary in this way – $1,000 for 100 different community organizations.

As for the school grant, they are in the business of provision of education & not running a profitable fete operation. I’d suggest that instead of holding onto the $25,000 profit and re-investing it into this years fete they spent it all on improvement of facilities.

Perhaps with this little boost to the kitty they’ll be able to attract something to generate even greater profits this year. I suggest one of those tables where you throw coins into squares.

Good on the bank, I’m sure all the organizations greatly appreciate it.

Here_and_Now4:05 pm 25 Jul 13

Roundhead89 said :

and as for transgendered, do they need the money to buy feather boas?

I’m trying to discern the origin of this comment too. Either…

A) You genuinely believe that the sole difference between transgendered and non-transgendered people is that the former have a want or need for feather boas and they find this a financial difficulty. In which case, I understand that the nature of the word ‘transgender’ must be confusing for you, as it refers neither to fashion accessories nor plumage. I can alleviate this for you by assuring you this is not the case. You’re welcome.

B) You do not suffer under the misapprehension described in my previous point but nonetheless thought it would ‘incredibly funny’, possibly some manner of ‘sick burn’, to express a link between gender permeability and fluffy scarves and imply that that is the sole resource or assistance transpeople may need (though it is not so, as already explained). You conceived of your remark, then made a considered decision on whether, if you shared it, the world would be the better for your doing so. And now, as you go through the many long days of your life, you are satisfied that your net happiness is greater than had you not posted to the internet that comment about transgendered people and feather boas. It shall no doubt be an anecdote you share with great pride, hoping it will be passed down any descendents you may have, whose enjoyment will no doubt be multiples of your own should they also be transgendered themselves.

Here_and_Now3:52 pm 25 Jul 13

Roundhead89 said :

I don’t mind the money going to Diversity ACT as long as none goes to transsexuals or so-called intersex people. Firstly there is no such thing as “Intersex” and as for transgendered, do they need the money to buy feather boas? Normal people only, please.

Why do you say there is no such thing as ‘intersex’? That’s factually untrue, no matter how much you may dislike them because they’re different.

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex Even if you don’t think Wikipedia is a robust resource, there’s a handy list of links at the end of the page.

Or would you *rather* there were no such thing as intersex? If so, that’s a rather disturbing thing to read. Do you mind if we ask why?

21. St Francis of Assisi Primary School
To help run the annual St Francis of Assisi Primary School Fete, which last year raised $25,000 to construct a multipurpose sports surface. The funds raised this year will go to updating sports equipment and the school grounds.

Does anyone else find it odd that they are getting money to help stage an event that made, errr… $25 grand last year?

Yes. I also find it abhorrent that the government is giving money to the wealthiest corporation on the planet.

Roundhead89 said :

I don’t mind the money going to Diversity ACT as long as none goes to transsexuals or so-called intersex people. Firstly there is no such thing as “Intersex” and as for transgendered, do they need the money to buy feather boas? Normal people only, please.

How do you define normal? Someone who posts endless vids of himself squawking on YouTube? Including (shudder) some where he removes some clothing while giving dodgy dietary tips?

If that’s normal, please give me the unusual, and even the thoroughly quirky.

So many worthwhile charities/community groups in the list.

I don’t mind the money going to Diversity ACT as long as none goes to transsexuals or so-called intersex people. Firstly there is no such thing as “Intersex” and as for transgendered, do they need the money to buy feather boas? Normal people only, please.

Does anyone else find it odd that they are getting money to help stage an event that made, errr… $25 grand last year?

Not at all, no.

No more than I am surprised at the poofs being given money to “better themselves,” or for the provision of a locomotive proof fence..

It’s indicative of the madness which has characterised this whole centenary fiasco.

bundah said :

“To install fences around the Society’s Museum in Kingston, so as to prevent members of the public being harmed by moving locomotives”

Yeah coz those bloody locomotives turn up once or twice a month and peeps can’t be trusted not to throw themselves into the path of the Loco!

I thought ARHS was being moved to other premises (like the minature ride on steam trains)? Bit of a waste to fence the place and then re-locate.

“To install fences around the Society’s Museum in Kingston, so as to prevent members of the public being harmed by moving locomotives”

Yeah coz those bloody locomotives turn up once or twice a month and peeps can’t be trusted not to throw themselves into the path of the Loco!

11. Diversity ACT
To assist with the Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, Transgendered and Intersex community with running a course with Lizzie Wagner on bettering themselves for job employment.

You are effing kidding me?!

Attitude readjustment classes, so they don’t push the bs lines of “I am gay and you absolutely must give me that position or else I will file a discrimination complaint”? Then it is fine with me. Give them double that amount. Plenty more in Canberra that need bettering themselves 🙂

Fully support the grants for all other recipients, worthy cause.

To assist with the Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, Transgendered and Intersex community with running a course with Lizzie Wagner on bettering themselves for job employment.

What does that even mean?

TheBusDriver7:14 pm 24 Jul 13

Diversity ACT does not support Lesbians, Bi, Transgender or Intersex. It is Gay club. That’s it. I dare them to prove otherwise.

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