They are among 50 projects being funded by the IMB Bank Community Foundation.

On Wednesday Illawarra’s home-grown bank donated $500,000 to more community projects in areas in which it operates.

That brings the total over the last 19 years to $9.1 million in funding for almost 650 projects.

IMB Bank chief executive Robert Ryan said the 2018 recipients were all dedicated and determined to assist the communities where they live.

“There are thousands of people dedicating their time and effort every day to make life better for others,” Mr Ryan said.

“I am proud that, through IMB Bank Community Foundation funding, we can work in partnership with local groups to provide new facilities, services and support that add tangible value to our communities and create better outcomes for the people living in them.”

Mr Ryan said the Top Blokes Foundation was a great example of how the outcomes of funding local projects can have widespread benefits in the community for many years.

“In 2006, the IMB Bank Community Foundation funded the Black Opal Leadership program at the University of Wollongong,” he said.

“One of the students in that program, Melissa Abu-Gazaleh, was inspired to establish a Foundation for boys and young men. That program, called Top Blokes, is now operating in Wollongong, Western Sydney and Newcastle and it is one of the recipient projects for the Foundation in 2018. This is an excellent example of how that IMB Bank Community Foundation funding in 2006 has had enormous benefit for the community, not just locally, but in other areas of NSW.”

Studying a Bachelor of Communications at UoW as well as a Diploma of Welfare at TAFE,  Ms Abu-Gazaleh was chosen as part of the three-year Black Opal leadership program which has helped her with confidence, inspiration and support.

“At the time, there didn’t really exist any mental health programs for young boys and men and the media was full of negative stories about them getting into trouble with the police, turning to alcohol and drugs,” she said.

“There was a gap in the market and Top Blokes has now helped more than 10,000 young men in our schools and through various community programs”.

Ms Abu-Gazaleh went on to be named 2015 NSW Young Australian of the Year.

The funding the IMB Bank Community Foundation is presenting Top Blokes on Wednesday morning will allow Ms Abu-Gazaleh’s team at Top Blokes to implement the Stepping Up program in several Illawarra primary schools. It will help educate boys in Year 6 who have been identified by school principals as “at risk”.

“Without the initial funding from IMB Bank Community Foundation to the Black Opal Leadership Program, this may not have happened. So you never know where that support might lead over the long term,” Ms Abu-Gazaleh said.

IMB Bank Community Foundation chair Jan Swinhoe said almost 250 projects had applied for funding in 2018 and all of them demonstrated tireless effort and support to assist a wide variety of local projects.

“The Foundation committee visits each shortlisted project to assess them and we are always humbled and amazed at the dedication and commitment of community members to help others,” she said.

“It is a real pleasure to be able to allocate funds to these 50 organisations announced today, so they can continue to grow and develop their resources”.

More stories and pictures from Wednesday morning’s presentation here soon.

Read more: 

Banana circle at Preschool - WARILLA BAPTIST CHURCH PRE-SCHOOL                                      

Bananas are a wonderful resource to help turn unwanted food scraps into usable compost. A Banana Circle in the pre-school playground will help achieve the pre-school’s goal of reducing their ecological footprint. It will also provide opportunities to teach children lifelong environmental and sustainable practices as they see their food waste become compost for the pre-school garden. 

Sandon Point IRB replacement - SANDON POINT SURF LIFE SAVING CLUB INCORPORATED          

Sandon Point SLSC is getting a new Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB). Replacing a 14-year-old boat, the new IRB will support rapid response rescue and enable greater manoeuvrability in the water. Surf Club members will also be encouraged to race in IRB competitions in the off season.

Community Action Team Trailer - STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE (NSW- SHELLHARBOUR)                  

A Community Action Team Trailer will be used to increase education and awareness in the community, particularly in areas that present a flood risk. In addition, it will be geared up and ready to deploy to specific areas at risk in the case of an event. The trailer will store items including traffic cones, emergency evacuation hi-vis vests, sandbags and CB radios.

Football Program for Refugees - FOOTBALL SOUTH COAST LTD                                  

Football for Refugees utilises the ‘world game’ of football to encourage community engagement and provide education to refugees living in the Illawarra. Two 10-week football programs will cover football skills and will also incorporate workshops on different topics including; education opportunities, employment opportunities, beach safety and the health system in Australia. 

Rescue stretcher wheel - STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE (NSW - WOLLONGONG)                                 

Rescues in the bush or other remote locations can present difficulties in transporting patients. A light weight stretcher wheel attached to a rescue stretcher, means someone who is injured in the bush or in a remote area can be quickly moved to medical aid by volunteers.

Kind Hearts Illawarra Outreach - KIND HEARTS ILLAWARRA                                          

Every Thursday night Kind Hearts Illawarra run Outreach at McCabe Park to provide meals, drinks, hygiene packs, blankets, towels and clothing for homeless people, troubled youth and others in need. Funding will provide a van to support outreach activities.

Road Safety Education Illawarra (RYDA) - THE ROTARY CLUB OF WEST WOLLONGONG INC

RYDA is an award-winning Road Safety Education program committed to reducing trauma on our roads by educating young people in Years 9 to 12. RYDA is evidence-based, providing practical and powerful workshops to change the way young people think about road safety. Funding will cover attendance of up to 1,600 Illawarra students.

Camp Kitchen - ILLAWARRA LIGHT RAILWAY MUSEUM SOCIETY LTD                                        

The Museum Society is seeking funding to replace an outdated barbecue and kitchen area. The camp kitchen is used on operating days for food sales to visitors. The museum features a number of historical steam and diesel locomotives from Australia's Industrial Railways.

Training room refurbishment - SOUTH COAST RESCUE SQUAD INCORPORATED                 

The NSW Volunteer Rescue Association is made up of specialist rescue operators working for their communities. They are primary responders for Road Crash Rescue, Marine Rescue, Vertical Rescue and just about any type of specialist rescue encountered by Emergency Service personnel. A training room with a kitchenette will provide a space the South Coast Rescue Squad and RFS can use for land search, first aid and working at heights training. 

MR Port Kembla Communications Centre Upgrade - VOLUNTEER MARINE RESCUE NSW

A major communications centre upgrade for the Marine Rescue NSW Port Kembla Unit will deliver better radio coverage for the boating public of the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions in waters between Sydney and Batemans Bay, including Jervis Bay, St Georges Basin and Sussex Inlet areas.

Chemo Care Kits - RAISE THE GONG INCORPORATED      

Chemo Care Kits provide women in the Illawarra who are undergoing chemotherapy with a kit of items specifically picked to suit women diagnosed with cancer. Kits are delivered to around 600 Illawarra women diagnosed each year.

Kitchen on Wheels - STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE (NSW- KIAMA)

The Kiama SES catering team prepare meals during multi-day training for volunteers across the Illawarra and South Coast, as well as providing food during sustained emergencies. The catering team currently uses a very outdated kitchen and BBQ facilities to prepare and cook food for 20-150 volunteers at a time.  Kitchen on Wheels will enable the team to expand their current catering capability by 20-30 portions.

ARAFMI Carer Crisis Manual - MENTAL HEALTH CARERS ARAFMI ILLAWARRA INC.            

Carers of people with Mental Health issues experience high levels of stress and anxiety during a mental crisis. A manual distributed outside of a crisis situation can help carers feel better equipped to manage the situation. 5,000 manuals will be printed and distributed to doctors’ surgeries and mental health facilities.

Stepping Up - Illawarra - THE TRUSTEE FOR TOP BLOKES FOUNDATION  

The Stepping Up program provides education and support for boys in Years 5 & 6  demonstrating at risk behaviours of concern to their teachers. Over one term, our qualified youth workers challenge the boys to manage their anger, develop positive relationships, recognise negative peer pressure, whilst developing emotional resilience and improved self-worth so they are well prepared for the transition to high school. Funding will deliver the program to five Illawarra schools.

CareSouth Health Hub - CARESOUTH

CareSouth provides free access to hearing, dental and optical checks to disadvantaged children aged 2 - 17 in Berkeley and surrounding suburbs. This project will provide dental, auditory and optical checks for up to 200 children, and will also provide healthy lifestyle education for parents, carers and young people on the importance of seeing health professionals.  

Taking Therapy into the Sunshine - WOLLONGONG WEST STREET CENTRE (WISH)             

Taking Therapy into the Sunshine will install a trauma informed, purpose specific, outdoor therapeutic play facility for children and young people who have experienced child sexual assault and other trauma. Evidence indicates that trauma informed play treatments have the potential to set children on a path of well-being.

The GIFT - Remembering Bob Sredersas - WOLLONGONG CITY GALLERY LIMITED                             

THE GIFT is a new immersive installation project for the Wollongong Art Gallery that celebrates Bob Sredersas, a Lithuanian emigrant who fled his country and came to Australia in 1950. Bob lived in Wollongong and worked at the Port Kembla steelworks. Over two decades Bob collected art from some of Australia’s most significant artists, which he gifted to the city of Wollongong in 1975 THE GIFT will incorporate the 100 plus art works from the Sredersas collection along with some of Bob’s personal items into an immersive and atmospheric experience.

IMB Roger Soden Musical Scholarship - WOLLONGONG CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC LIMITED

The Roger Soden Scholarship provides funding for a student at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music.

Need a Feed - NEED A FEED AUSTRALIA INC.      

Need a Feed partners with several organisations to identify and connect with local families who are struggling or who are in need. Need a Feed assist with emergency relief to these families by providing one of life’s basics… food.

Life Education Illawarra Truck - ILLAWARRA DRUG AWARENESS GROUP LIMITED

Life Education’s delivers educational programs on site at various primary and pre-schools throughout the Illawarra. The Life Education Truck is a mobile classroom where students learn about making the best choices for a safe and healthy life.

Reroof the public use area of the Men's Shed - TUROSS HEAD MEN'S SHED INC.               

The Men’s Shed plan to extend roofing of the public use area that is attached to the shed. Roofing will extend the useable area of the shed for member activities and public use.

Purchase of Equipment for Shed - ULLADULLA MEN'S SHED INCORPORATED      

The Milton-Ulladulla Men’s Shed are looking to introduce metal working to their regular activities and are seeking funding to purchase a Metal Turning Lathe. The new Lathe will enable additional members to learn this new skill and will also enable the shed’s disabled members to undertake some metal working.

Veggies for All 2018 - SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND GARDENING EUROBODALLA     

Following on from the success of the pilot program in 2017, Veggies for All seeks to expand the work completed to date and provide low income households with a backyard veggie patch and low fee workshops providing education around how to compost and local planting guides.

Solar Power for Evans Park - CLEAN ENERGY FOR ETERNITY INCORPORATED        

Evans Park is a popular venue with the Kalaru Community, home to sporting events and a place where people train and play. Funding will enable a new amenities block (currently under construction) to be powered by clean energy.

Tathra Bushfire Donation - MAYORAL APPEAL FOR TATHRA                        

Donation to the Tathra Bushfire Mayoral Appeal to support Tathra residents in the wake of 2018’s devastating bushfire.

Cows Create Careers - LIONS CLUB OF STRZELECKI INCORPORTATED      

Hands on learning at its best. Students learn about the dairy industry while caring for dairy calves on loan from local farmers. Cows Create Careers connects farmers and students and provides opportunities for students to learn about opportunities within the industry.

U Turn the Wheel - ROTARY CLUB OF MOSS VALE INC                    

U Turn the Wheel provides Driver Safety education to 500-600 year 11 High School students from 6 High Schools across the Wingecarribee Shire. Students attend interactive sessions with police and ambulance personnel, brain injury professionals and patients, and drug and alcohol awareness experts with the aim to reduce youth involvement in road trauma.

SES Vertical Rescue Training Tower - STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE (NSW - WINGECARRIBEE)        

A vertical rescue training tower will enable volunteers direct, intensive training in simulated rescue scenarios, increasing the team’s readiness for this specialised rescue.

Prevent Alcohol & Risk Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y) Program - STH WEST SYDNEY LOCAL HEALTH DISTRICT (LIVERPOOL HOSPITAL)

The P.A.R.T.Y program is an in-hospital education initiative providing young people with correct information to recognise potential injury producing situations. Risk taking behaviours including drugs, alcohol, speeding and distracted driving are incorporated into the educational sessions to demonstrate how these choices can be a contributing factor to injury. 

Mount Druitt Children's Healing Garden - THE TRUSTEE FOR BLACKTOWN AND MOUNT DRUITT HOSPITALS FOUNDATION TRUST  

Mount Druitt Hospital has the highest volume of paediatric emergency and medicine attendances of any hospital in Western Sydney; on average 4,500 patients visit every year. The children’s healing garden aims to provide relief and distraction from the stress and emotional trauma of a hospital environment.

Small Tools Replacement and Trailer - MENS SHED NARELLAN INCORPORATED  

Narellan Men’s Shed is an integral part of the Macarthur Community. The Men’s Shed will purchase a box trailer and to replace a variety of small hand and power tools, which will enable shed members to learn wood working and metal working tool skills.

RSPS's Greenhouse Classroom - REVESBY SOUTH PUBLIC SCHOOL P & C ASSOCIATION

Revesby South Public School have a fully sustainable veggie garden complete with chicken coop, worm farm and beehives. The P&C plan to build a greenhouse that will support garden activities and that is large enough to serve as an additional classroom.

Holter Event Monitors  - THE HEART CENTRE FOR CHILDREN

Holter monitors allow a child’s heart’s electrical activity to be recorded for a continuous 24-48 hour period so that doctors can analyse the results and provide appropriate treatment. This test is entirely painless and is worn during normal activities. It is a valuable and powerful tool to determine the mechanism of heart rhythm disturbance (arrhythmia). The purchase of 3 new Holter monitors and supporting software program will enable monitoring of up to 210 children and more each year

Intensive Care Unit - CAMPBELLTOWN HOSPITAL

 Patients and staff at Campbelltown Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit will benefit from the purchase of new equipment including a humidifier, respiratory humidifier and an emergency trolley and accessories.

Health Check Booth (HCB) - VICTOR CHANG CARDIAC RESEARCH INSTITUTE LIMITED      

90% of Australians have a least one modifiable risk factor for heart disease. The Heart Health Check Booth provides free testing of modifiable risk factors including high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. Convenient and quick tests aim to help people understand results and take steps to better heart health.

ADHD  - WE HAVE THE ANSWERS - WESTMEAD MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION          

When diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit, Hyperactivity Disorder), young people and their families turn to the Internet for answers. This project will build a website where people can find accurate, helpful information and a professionally supported social media forum.

Bereavement Support for Young Adults - NATIONAL CENTRE CHILDHOOD GRIEF AUSTRALIA LIMITED     

The National Centre for Childhood Grief provides support for young children who are dealing with loss. This project involves monthly workshops for a group of young adults who were all involved with the NCCG Centre as children as a result of the death of one or both parents. Now facing adulthood, they are finding that their grief is resurfacing.