HAMILTON Community House Inc has been awarded a $10,000 grant through the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal (FRRR) flagship program; Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC).

The FRRR grants are used to fund projects that address a range of diverse community needs, including fostering connectedness and wellbeing, as well as supporting ongoing COVID and disaster recovery, and preparedness.

The funding will go towards a special financial literacy project for the community; ‘Stepping Stones to Leaps and Bounds!’.

As one of 151 community organisations across the country to be awarded funding, the local ‘Stepping Stones to Leaps and Bounds!’ program will promote community connections and development of life skills through the delivery of an economic management program.

Hamilton Community House Inc co-ordinator, Deb King, said she was delighted to learn that the application for funding had been successful.

“This project will be very worthwhile,” she said.

“It is designed to build confidence and knowledge in financial literacy and is based on the ‘Bridges out of Poverty’ program.”

That program looked at strategies that helped people strengthen their financial situation - to make improvements - and to give people greater financial skills, abilities and knowledge.

“This (Stepping Stones to Leaps and Bounds!) is something new,” Ms King said.

“It will be something we can offer people to assist them - especially now due to the cost of living.”

Ms King said the SRC was a very good philanthropic enterprise that helped local communities across Australia enormously.

“We are very excited to announce this project,” she said.

“We encourage anyone interested to get in touch and we will also look at referrals.

“It’s a couple of hours sessions and it usually takes up lunch so people can build social networks as well.”

FRRR is a not-for-profit (NFP) organisation that connects common purposes and funding from government, business and philanthropy with the genuine local needs of rural people and places.

It aims to provide funding and capacity building support at the hyper-local level.

The recipient NFPs are in rural regions across Australia and will share in the total $1,579,380 in grants.

Grants distributed ranged from $750 for a lawn mower to help local volunteers prepare the community for bushfires, to $25,000 for a “Get Started Emergency Preparedness” program.