Mounties Group Pledges Almost $360,000 To Worthy Causes Via Clubgrants

29 Oct 2020

Despite the challenges of 2020 with the Coronavirus pandemic and many clubs not contributing this year, Mounties Group has pledged almost $360,000 to local community groups via Category 1 ClubGRANTS. 
With a commitment to supporting the local community, Mounties Group has allocated $359,470 to 20 worthy projects including those that support youth, families, seniors, children and vulnerable members of our community. 
 
This year's grant recipients provide a range of community services to the Liverpool, Fairfield and Northern Beaches communities with grants funded from Mounties Groups clubs - Mounties, Triglav, Mekong and Harbord Diggers. 
 
Two beneficiaries include The Humour Foundation and Miracle Babies Foundation who have both received funding to support their valued programs. 
 
The Humour Foundation received $12,000 to support its Clown Doctors initiative, a program delivered by specially trained performance artists who work with sick kids in hospital to create moments of joy and laughter when and how they need it most.  
Clown Doctors partner with healthcare professionals to bring 'doses' of fun and laughter to the child's bedside through improvised engagements, using their skills in clowning, music, jokes and magic, helping to make hospital a less lonely and scary place to be. 

"The ClubGRANTS funding from Mounties Group will directly contribute to the ongoing delivery of our Clown Doctors program at NSW's largest children's specialist hospital - The Children's Hospital at Westmead," said Tony Warner, CEO at The Humour Foundation. 

"Four days of every week, the Clown Doctors deliver joy and laughter throughout the hospital - from general medical to intensive care, oncology to emergency, as well as waiting rooms and specialist clinics where they provide much need distraction and support, especially during painful or anxiety inducing medical procedures. 

"The Clown Doctors transform the hospital experience for everyone. Each year they engage with over 24,000 children and young people, their families and hospital staff just at Westmead, but there are also 23 other hospitals they visit around the country," he added. 

Receiving another $12,000 grant, the Miracle Babies Foundation will use its funding to continue supporting families with a baby born premature or sick. 

"We are very excited to receive this funding from Mounties Group to contribute to developing and providing vital programs and resources to support families who need our support and programs," explained Miracle Babies Foundation's CEO, Kylie Pussell. 

"Every year in Australia around 48,000 newborn babies require the help of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Special Care Nursery (SCN), 27,000 of these babies are born premature and up to 1,000 babies lose their fight for life," she continued. 

"Having the support of organisations such as Mounties Group allows us to support and enhance a family's experience from a threatened pregnancy, the hospital journey with a premature or sick newborn, and with the transition to home and beyond after a long NICU journey," she added. 
Mounties Group president, Kevin Ingram was thrilled that despite the challenges of 2020 and a closure of clubs earlier in the year, the Group can still support such worthy causes. 

"With the Coronavirus threat shutting down clubs for a period of time recently, it's been tough for local clubs, who act as sponsors of many sporting and community bodies and organisations, to show their support," said Mr Ingram. 

"While many other clubs have understandably chosen not to participate in Category 1 ClubGRANTS this year, Mounties Group wanted to do their bit to ensure that these worthy causes that rely on our support can still receive a contribution. 

"The ClubGRANTS funding forms part of the $6 million we have given in the last financial year which comes from the ClubGRANTS scheme, community cash contributions, charity donations and local sporting sponsorships." 

"These ClubGRANTS are just one of the many ways Mounties Group is proactive in providing support, services and facilities for the betterment of our local community," he concluded.