As many Sunshine Coast families continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, the Buderim Foundation is proud to have provided a $100,500 grant to Gateway Care Food Centre to provide urgently needed food for local families.

The grant from the Buderim Foundation Thompson Charitable Fund is the third provided to Gateway Care Food Centre and brings total funding to a total of $302,000 to the organisation since 2023.

Buderim Foundation chair Rick Woods said the grants have provided much-needed support to families in need, including those experiencing homelessness, living in poverty or with domestic violence.

The Buderim Foundation will host a very special Moonlight Celebration with humanitarian Rev Tim Costello AO as our special guest to celebrate our 21^st Birthday – 21 years of community, generosity and impact.

The Moonlit Celebration will be a formal evening on Saturday 23^rd August with live music, a delicious sit-down meal, a keynote speech from Rev Costello AO and lots of surprises at the new Buderim Mountain State School Hall.

Buderim Foundation Chair Rick Woods said the Foundation was honoured to have Rev Tim Costello AO as a special guest for the evening.

“Tim is well-known for his humanitarian work, which aligns with the philanthropic philosophy at the heart of the Buderim Foundation.” Mr Woods said.

“As a community, we are very lucky that the founders created the Foundation in 2004 by establishing investment funds to help support the community. The idea was simple, invest donations and bequests, and distribute the earnings through grants to community organisations supporting the local community. The original investment is never spent so the fund can continue to support the community in perpetuity.

“Now, 21 years on this idea includes the Buderim community grants program that provide a service and support to residents in the Buderim area as well as the Thompson Charitable Fund which provides grants to organisations supporting people experiencing homelessness and financial hardship across the entire Sunshine Coast.

“Over $1.8M in total has been distributed back into our communities since inception.”

The Buderim Foundation is opening applications for its annual Community Grants Program for 2025, with grants available for local organisations making a positive impact on the Buderim community.

The Buderim Foundation 2024 Community Grant recipients. Photo by Cheryl Nonmus.

Applications open on Monday, 19^th May, to organisations serving the local Buderim community, and eligible applicants will need to apply before Tuesday 1^st July 2025.

Buderim Foundation Chair Rick Woods said this year marks the Foundation’s 21^st Anniversary and, thanks to the success of the Foundation in managing the community’s generous donations, the maximum grant amount for an individual organisation had been increased from $10,000 to $15,000.

Mr Woods said the application process details and 2025 guidelines are available on the website, with successful applicants to be announced at the Foundation’s 2025 annual Community Grants Celebration on Sunday, 14^th September.

The Suncoast Spinners Wheelchair Sports Club is expanding its kids reverse inclusion programs this year with a new ‘Dance to Move’ program in addition to their Wednesday night ‘Wheelchair Basketball Kids Club’.

Suncoast Spinners president Bridie Kean said the success of the Kids Club which brought together children in wheelchairs as well as their able-bodied siblings and friends had led to adding the Dance session to the program.

“Our Kids Club is great and helps the children build confidence and wheelchair skills while playing sport with their siblings and friends.

“Now, in conjunction with Sorelle Dance Studio, we are offering the opportunity for the kids to have even more fun with our wheelchair dance program ‘Dance to Move’.

The Suncoast Spinners Wheelchair Sports Club will be hosting Australia’s largest invitational wheelchair basketball tournament, the Suncoast Spinners T25, this weekend.

Suncoast Spinners president and Paralympian, Bridie Kean said the Open Tournament would bring together players from across the country.

“Our T25 is unique because it brings together wheelchair basketball players from beginners to the elite including several Paralympians to the same tournament.

“This means that not only is there great competition across our premiere, A and B grades, but our beginners get the opportunity to see their heroes in action and spend time with them.

“This makes the T25 not just an important opportunity to compete but a great skills development opportunity for current and future athletes as we get closer to 2032.”

The Buderim Community will come together for Remembrance Day (Monday 11^th November) to honour veterans with a special service at the Eric Joseph Foote War Memorial Sanctuary.

As part of a long-standing tradition a long-standing Buderim tradition, a local veteran will be honoured as part of the Remembrance Day service. This year’s veteran is the late Sergeant Arthur Scholes.

The anthem and hymns will this year be performed by the Buderim Mountain State School Senior Choir under the direction of music teacher Peter Jackson. The Last Post will be played by local bugler Ms Tess Banner.

The service will be held at the Eric Joseph Foote War Memorial Sanctuary, Park Lane, Buderim from 10am for a 10.30am service. Parking is limited so please plan ahead to park and walk, leaving sanctuary car park for those with accessibility issues.