Local focus for International Women’s Day

Bass Coast Community Foundation has launched this year’s Women for Change, which raises money to support initiatives addressing inequalities faced by local women.

The launch coincides with this year’s International Women’s Day and the Foundation is urging people celebrating IWD to donate to the program and make a concrete difference to the lives of local women.

Following a successful fundraising campaign and grants program in 2021, the Foundation hopes to grow the program to help local women access work, education and community life.

The Foundation’s Women for Change chairperson Nina Barry-Macaulay said research shows that investing in women has a flow on effect as they are much more likely to invest in their families – so by building self-confidence in women, you are also helping to build happy, healthy and thriving local families.

“Right now half of local women in Bass Coast have a weekly income less than $500, which when you think about current housing in our region, would barely cover the rent,” she said.

“This, on top of one third of local women living alone or in single parent households, means there are many women here in our own community doing it very tough,” she said.

Fundraising in 2021 enabled the Foundation to raise more than $6000 which was granted to:

• Rescue Station Arts at State Coal Mine, to run an art therapy-based wellbeing program;
• Wonthaggi Neighbourhood Houses’ L2P driving program, to enable five local women to participate in the program where they otherwise would have been ineligible due to their age; and
• Bass Coast Landcare, for an event to help women on farms access services, and increase awareness, connection and support.

You can help by donating to the Women for Change grants program at www.bccf.org.au.

If you’ve got an idea for a program to support local women, the Foundation wants to hear from you.

Applications for the grants program are now open at bccf.org.au or you can speak to Bass Coast Community Foundation Executive Officer Kirsty Mawer on 0493 110 802.