$43,500 kick-starts initiatives tackling local community needs

Supporting people to reintegrate from prison into their communities, feeding struggling families, and upskilling people to find employment are among nine Baptist Church community initiatives to be funded under Carinity’s Innovations Grants.

The South-East Queensland communities of Logan, Nundah, Forest Lake, Cannon Hill, Palm Beach and Windsor as well as regional towns Nanango and Kirwan will benefit from a total of $43,500 in grants.

Carinity CEO Jon Campbell says the Carinity Innovation Grants, available to Queensland Baptist Churches and now in their 12th year, were highly competitive with applications exceeding previous years.

“What it shows is that Christian communities are continuing to step up to support local community need. Carinity has helped kick-start more than 120 church initiatives in local communities across the state through grants totalling $373,500 over the past 12 years,” he says.

“The decision to award the grants was extremely difficult this year as there were so many fantastic initiatives. We’re excited to announce the recipients and look forward to working with them over the next 12 months.”

The Beachside Christian Church on the Gold Coast will receive funding for a trailer for its Light House Services Work therapy recovery program which helps people struggling with homelessness and addiction build self-esteem and work experience through a community gardening and yard-maintenance initiative.

Program Coordinator Luke Rytenskild says the program provides training in mowing, yard maintenance, painting, graffiti removal, cleaning and basic carpentry to help the elderly and disadvantaged on the Gold Coast.

“We have helped over 500 men since 2009 through assisting the elderly, who struggle physically to maintain their properties, as well as single parents without the means to pay for contractors,” Luke says.

The Hosanna Logan City Church will set up a number of programs supporting people serving prison sentences and helping them prepare for their reintegration into their communities. This includes introducing the 10-week Circuit Breaker course to help men repair relationships, resolve conflict and help prevent family violence. Similarly the Woman to Woman 10-week course will assist women in prison build self-awareness and self-esteem to potentially reduce offending behaviour and recidivism.

The 2017 Carinity Innovation Grants recipients are:

• • Hosanna Logan City Church – Introduction of the10-week Circuit Breaker course for the Borallon Training and Correctional Centre to helping break the cycle of domestic violence and restore relationships in families.
  • Park Ridge Baptist Church – Infants’ Play area required to start a playgroup.
  • North East Baptist Church – Purchase of a coffee machine to enable barista training to help the unemployed find work.
  • Northreach Baptist Church – Community Playground to replace the closed playground and enable them to continue to run the Giggles for God program.
  • Hosanna Church Brisbane – Commercial Fridge and Freezer to grow the Community Foodbank.
  • Birkdale Baptist Church – Setting up a Cannon Hill Foodbank Café for the community to connect.
  • Beachside Christian Church – A trailer for the Light House Services Work therapy recovery program. Work training in mowing, yard maintenance, painting, graffiti removal, cleaning and basic carpentry to help those in need throughout the community.
  • Nanango Community Baptist Church – Shade cover for playground to help grow their Mainly Music program, bible study, Sunday School and youth group.
  • Windsor Road Baptist Church – Office equipment to establish a CAP (Christians Against Poverty) freedom from debt program delivering debt education.

Find out how to apply for Carinity Innovations Grants at the Innovations Grants website.