Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club awarded DHL Express grant for sustainability

The Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club on Queensland's Gold Coast has been awarded a $5000 grant from DHL Express for their submission by Leesa Monaghan on the club’s sustainability program, which included measures to replace single use items like plastic bottles and coffee cups with reusable alternatives, installing water drinking stations, composting waste for the local community garden, and using environmentally friendly cleaning products.

DHL Express, the world’s leading international express service provider and Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) recently announced the winners of this year’s DHL Summer ‘We Are One’ grant program. The program invited Australians to make a submission on behalf of their local Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) to recognise and support the contributions of initiatives in the areas of innovation, sustainability and community.

As published in a blog on SLSA’s website, SLSA Chief Executive, Adam Weir notes “DHL have been wonderful partners of Surf Life Saving for 16 years now and we are very grateful to have them as a part of our family. This program was a great initiative from DHL and opportunity for Surf Life Saving Clubs around Australia to access additional funds in recognition of their efforts towards innovation, sustainability and community. Thank you and congratulations to all clubs who entered for your great work across these areas.”

The other 2020 grant winners included:

$2,000 Grant – Bonbeach Surf Life Saving Club (VIC), submission by Stephanie Reindel.
Awarded for the club’s cultural diversity program, aiming to encourage youth of different cultural backgrounds to train for their Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC). In its third year, the club’s program trained 17 children aged between 13 and 17 years of age.

$1,000 Grant – Cairns Surf Life Saving Club (QLD), submission by Zara Chauvin-Hartmann.
Awarded for the club’s initiatives to support and encourage young women to participate in the surf lifesaving movement while developing leadership, community education, fundraising and networking skills.

DHL Express Oceania, Chief Executive and Senior Vice President, Gary Edstein advised  “encompassing the areas of sustainability, innovation and community, initiatives submitted for this year’s grant program displayed the true extent of the positive impact Surf Life Saving Clubs are making beyond the beach. Among the more than 100 entries received from all across Australia, our grant winners stood out for their clarity of mission and we were pleased to see common themes of passion and a ‘can-do’ attitude. We were equally impressed by the level of organisation demonstrated and the efforts to engage club members across all ages and backgrounds. Thank you to all clubs for your work in supporting our communities and continuing to keep our beaches safe.”

In previous years, the DHL grants have supported lifesaving initiatives at Black Head Surf Life Saving Club, helped improve facilities at Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club, and funded boating equipment at Cabarita Beach Surf Life Saving Club.

For more information on Surf Life Saving Australia go to https://sls.com.au/

Image courtesy of Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club (QLD)