$1 million grants pave way for community projects in Sydney

Late night programs for Redfern/Waterloo teenagers, the Wayside Chapel's annual Christmas Day street party, a swim carnival for people with a disability and 115 other local projects will share over $1 million in community grants from the City of Sydney.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the grants would help passionate community groups and individuals get truly significant projects off the ground, stating "from large-scale proposals to small and simple creative ideas, each project will play an important role to invigorate, inspire and engage local residents, businesses and visitors.

"These grants will support boxing and healthy breakfast classes in Redfern, mobile captioning at Belvoir St Theatre and a program supporting first time fathers, as well as more than 100 other projects."

"The process of applying, delivering and then acquitting even small grants can help build the experience and organisational nous to develop larger projects - it's a crucial step to developing the community groups of the future."

A $70,000 grant will allow Fact Tree Youth Service to continue a late-night program for socially disadvantaged teenagers in Redfern/Waterloo that Sharne Dunsmore, Fact Tree's Chief Executive, said had dramatically decreased incidents being reported to local police.

"Since starting in 2011 the number of local teenagers reported to police for street crime, malicious damage and drug possession has plummeted by more than 70%.

"The kids now have free, fully supervised activities to keep them occupied and out of trouble. The community, Redfern Police and, of course, the young people themselves are really supportive and are looking forward to the continuation of the program.

"This project is making a real difference in the local area and there is simply no way we would be able to run it without the financial support we receive from the City Of Sydney."

A new swimming carnival event for people living with a disability will be organised by Sydney University with help from a $3,000 local community grant.

Organiser Vanessa Smith said it's likely to be very popular on the back of Australia's most successful Paralympics ever, stating "we came up with the idea for an event to provide increased opportunities for swimmers with a disability to compete in a fun and friendly environment and think it will be a great chance to build on the interest by the Paralympics.

"It's an exciting opportunity to promote swimming for people with disabilities and to highlight their achievement. The carnival will run in July 2013 and we're expecting up to 100 swimmers."

A $5,000 City of Sydney grant will help the Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross continue its annual Christmas day street party for about 1,000 people.

Wayside Pastor Graham Long stated "the City has been a long-time supporter of this important event, which is the longest-running Christmas street party in Sydney.

"It's a celebration not just for the poor, but all people who might be lonely on Christmas Day. It's one of the few times you'll see street people dancing in the street, which makes it really worth the effort."

Some of the other projects to benefit from the latest round of City of Sydney grants and sponsorships include:

• A Senior Superstar program to showcase the talents of over 55s;
• Boxing and healthy breakfast classes for young Aboriginal peoples in Redfern;
• Film workshops for LGBTIQ residents ahead of the 2013 Mardi Gras Film Festival and Mardi Gras 35th Anniversary;
• A program supporting first-time fathers with tips on bonding with their new baby and raising children;
• Development of a new exhibition of student poetry by the Red Room Company;
• Support for a Transgender Anti-Violence Project encouraging victims to report attacks to the police;
• An annual Tournament of Books to engage the reading community;
• Making theatre more accessible with mobile captioning at Belvoir St Theatre for people with impaired hearing;
• An architectural workshop for seven-to-12-year-olds at Carriageworks;
• Contemporary dance classes for local school students at the Sydney Dance Company; and
• Support for a green renting expo to teach tenants how to live more sustainably.

All applications are assessed against strict guidelines and criteria to ensure their projects are financially secure and meet the City's objectives.

For more information go to www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Image: Sydney Dance Company youth workshop. Courtesy of Sydney Dance Company/Xavier Mansfield Photography.