Sunnykids Buderim Foundation

The Buderim Foundation Thompson Charitable Fund provides a $65,800 grant to support vulnerable Sunshine Coast families

The Buderim Foundation Thompson Charitable Fund is proud to provide a $65,800 grant to SunnyKids to help provide support for vulnerable Sunshine Coast families.

Buderim Foundation’s Charlie Morris, SunnyKids CEO Kathleen Hope and Buderim Foundation Chair Rod McKinnon -photo-by-Ross-Eason

Buderim Foundation chair Rod McKinnon said SunnyKids provides vital support for Sunshine Coast families in need of a helping hand on the Sunshine Coast.

“The Buderim Foundation’s Thompson Charitable Fund is proud to support SunnyKids and the work they do in providing emergency food, accommodation and other support,” Rod McKinnon said.

SunnyKids CEO Kathleen Hope said SunnyKids provides connections and support for vulnerable Sunshine Coast families focusing on providing complex case management, including long-term capacity-building and emotional support.

“We seek to assist families and individuals in some of the worst situations imaginable. Families arrive at SunnyKids hoping to access clothing, medicine, food or things like car registration which in turn allows them to focus less on transportation and more time on other vital family needs like getting the kids to school, doctors’ appointments, and getting to and from work,” Ms Hope said.

Buderim FoundationThompson Fund Gateway Care Grant

The Buderim Foundation Thompson Charitable Fund provides $100,000 grant for vital food relief for Coast families in crisis

The Buderim Foundation Thompson Charitable Fund is proud to provide a $100,000 grant to Gateway Care Food Centre to support their Food Rescue Program.

Buderim Foundation Thompson Charitable Fund donation to Gateway Care Food Centre – Tom Lew and Lani Rafiti from Gateway Care receive cheque from Buderim Foundation’s Rod McKinnon and Rebecca Ramsay – photo by Ross Eason

Buderim Foundation chair Rod McKinnon said Gateway Care Food Centre plays a vital role in providing emergency food relief to families in crisis and those experiencing financial hardship on the Sunshine Coast.

“The Buderim Foundation’s Thompson Charitable Fund is proud to support the Gateway Care Food Centre and their Food Rescue Program,” Rod McKinnon said.

Gateway Care Chair Lani Refiti said the Gateway Care Food Centre is a non-denominational community organisation run entirely by volunteers.

“It currently spends approximately $15,000 per week on food items, ensuring that families in need have access to vital nourishment, and over 50% of these purchases are freely delivered to Sunshine Coast families experiencing financial difficulties.

The 2022 BF Grant Recipients

Grants of up to $10,000 available to local community organisations thanks to Buderim Foundation

The Buderim Foundation is opening applications for its annual Community Grants Program for 2023, with grants of up to $10,000 available for local organisations with initiatives that make a positive impact on the local Buderim community.

The 2022 Buderim Foundation Grant Recipients

Applications open on Monday, 8th May to organisations serving the local 4556 community, and eligible applicants will need to apply online before Monday 19th June.

Buderim Foundation Grants Committee chair Rebecca Ramsay said the application process was easily completed online and successful applicants will be announced at the Foundation’s 2023 annual Community Grants Celebration on Sunday 10th September.

“The projects need to directly benefit residents within the 4556-postcode area with a diverse range of areas of interest from protecting our natural environment to supporting youth in our community,” Mrs Ramsay said.

Guest speaker at Buderim Foundation breakfast Scott Foote 1

Deep Sea Adventure Diver to speak at Buderim Foundation breakfast

Deep sea diver and adventurer Scott Foote will be the special guest speaker at the next Buderim Foundation breakfast on Wednesday 29th March.

Mr Foote has lived a life of adventure, having travelled to over 74 countries throughout his life and will share just some of his extraordinary experiences.

Born in Mitchell before moving to Brisbane, Scott set off overseas with a backpack, aged 24, for 6 months and was gone for 21 years.

For 16 years, he worked in a very hostile environment as a Saturation Diver, living in a hyperbaric chamber for 28 days at a time, in seas and oceans around the world.

Buderim Foundation chair Rod McKinnon said Mr Foote’s presentation would give the audience a look beneath the oceans’ surface.

“Even recreational divers will be amazed by some of the environments that Scott has worked in and what he has done during his career,” Mr McKinnon said.

Buderim FoundationDrovers dinner

Buderim Foundation Drovers Evening brings touch of the Outback

A touch of the outback came to the Sunshine Coast on Friday, with a sold-out crowd of 200 listening spellbound to the stories of original Aussie Drover, and former NT Government Minister Roger Steele.

Roger Steele tells of his outback experiences at the Buderim Foundation
Drovers Dinner. Photo by Ross Eason

Honourable Roger Steele, OAM, shared fascinating tales of his droving days in the Northern Territory and Queensland. He started work at Humbert River Station as a 13 year old and spent 17 years in the cattle industry in various jobs, from ringer, camp cook, stockman and station manager.

He shared tales of the challenges of mustering sometimes thousands of cattle through harsh terrain, dealing with a cattle rush, the role of horses and the value of Aboriginal stockmen. He went on to manage a life insurance company, to represent Territorians as a member of the NT Parliament, to manage the NT Expo in Brisbane and to take on the role of CEO of the Stockmans’ Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre in Longreach, and said he considered his time in the outback as the most memorable and fulfilling of his life.

DROVER-SMALL

Aussie outback icon to speak at special Buderim Foundation evening

An original Aussie drover Roger Steele will be telling stories from his extraordinary years in the outback at a special Buderim Foundation evening on Friday 3rd February.

Mr Steele, who began work as a 13-year-old on a Northern Territory cattle property and spent 17-years in the pastoral outback working his way up from ringer, drover, camp cook, and head stockman to station manager before becoming a Northern Territory Government Minister and Assistant Commissioner for World Expo ’88, has had an incredible life.

Buderim Foundation chair Rod McKinnon said it was not a surprise that with such an interesting working life, Roger has some incredible tales to tell.

“Whether outback life is completely different to your own experience or whether you have some fond memories of your own, Roger will paint a picture of outback life including the challenges of droving cattle for thousands of kilometres in often hazardous conditions, so we can’t wait for our Drover’s evening,” Rod McKinnon said.

LEONIE SQUARE

Peacekeeper and mine activist to present at special breakfast

Peacekeeper, ammunitions expert, martial artist, musician and one of the first-ever female graduates of Australia’s Royal Military College, Duntroon, Leonie Barnes will be the special guest speaker at a Buderim Foundation Breakfast in October.

Buderim Foundation Chair Dr Russell Stitz said Leonie’s presentation on her life stories, her values and philosophies was sure to be fascinating, with a lively Q&A session to follow the presentation.

Leonie, who is also the daughter of a crocodile shooter and has been a specialist Ammunition Technical Officer since the age of 22, will be presenting “M.I.N.E.D the Gap – if life is a minefield, what happens when real deminers do life?”.

The 2022 BF Grant Recipients

Buderim Foundation awards almost $60,000 in Community Grants

The Buderim Foundation is today awarding almost $60,000 in grants to be shared by 14 community-based organisations, as part of its annual Community Grants Celebration.

The Buderim Foundation 2022 Grant recipients – photo by Cheryl Nonmus

Buderim Foundation Grants Committee Chair, Rebecca Ramsay said the Foundation was delighted to once again provide support to community organisations supporting the 4556 postcode area.

“The grants come from earnings made from the Foundation’s investment fund, so it is thanks to everyone’s donations and the hard work of our Investment Committee, that we are able to deliver the much-needed funding,” Rebecca said.

“This year we will be awarding 14 Community Grants with a total value of $59879.54.”

The special Grants Celebration will be held on Saturday 10th September at the Buderim War Memorial Hall and is a Covid-Safe event.

“The Buderim Foundation concept is simple and has three key components.  Money in, where donations and bequests are received, money managed, where these funds are carefully invested and then money out, with the income from the investments distributed as grants to organisations supporting the 4556 community,” Rebecca said.

This year is the 15th year grants have been distributed. Since 2008, a total of $731,826 has been distributed to 90 community organisations supporting the 4556 postcode area.

John Robertson

Retired District Court Judge to share insights on youth crime

Retired District Court Judge and current chair of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council, John Robertson will be the guest speaker at a very special Buderim Foundation Breakfast on Wednesday 11th May.

Mr Robertson will be presenting “Sentencing Children – Myths and Remedies” at the breakfast, which will raise money for the Buderim Foundation’s investment fund. Earnings from the fund are given out in annual grants to organisations supporting the local community.

Buderim Foundation chair Dr Russell Stitz said Mr Robertson’s presentation was sure to be of interest to the local community and expected a lively question and answer session.

“At the Buderim Foundation we want to support the community and part of that is giving people the opportunity to consider important issues like youth justice, and to hear from experts like Mr Robertson, who bring a non-political, evidence-based approach to the issue,” Dr Stitz said.

Buderim Foundation Thompson Fund grants available for Sunshine Coast organisations helping those in need

Applications are now open for the 2022 Buderim Foundation Thompson Fund to assist eligible charity organisations that help those in need throughout the Sunshine Coast community.

Buderim Foundation Thompson Fund 2021 Grants – Susan Beaton(YouTurn), Rebecca Ramsay(BF), Fiona Browne,Jo Higgins(Lily House), Roy&Nola Thompson, Kathleen Hope(SunnyKids),Michele Lipner(OzHarvest), Dr Russell Stitz (BF),Tanya Bell (YouTurn) – photo by Ross Eason.

The Buderim Foundation became the trustee for the Thompson Charitable Trust in 2021 and this will be the second year the Foundation has offered grants from the fund.

Foundation Grants Committee chair, Rebecca Ramsay said Organisations that provide services for those unable to achieve a modest standard of living, were invited to assess their eligibility for the 2022 grants program from 4th April 2022, with applications closing on 8th May.

“In 2021, four organisations providing support to people experiencing homelessness and financial distress due to domestic violence and other circumstance on the Sunshine Coast, were awarded grants totalling $110,000 from the Buderim Foundation Thompson Fund,” Mrs Ramsay said.

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