Thanks to the philanthropy from Hunter-based businesses six local charities will share in $1.1 million of funding from the Greater Charitable Foundation this year. Foundation CEO Anne Long said this takes the total amount allocated since the Foundation was established in 2011 to more than $4 million.

The Greater Charitable Foundation, which is funded from the profits of the Greater Building Society, already partners with three charities, but this year they’ll partner with another three. Each of these charities helps to improve the life outcomes of families and communities in the Hunter and other parts of NSW. The new partners funded are Camp Quality who will receive $73,150 to support a play therapist at the John Hunter Children’s Hospital to work with children in the paediatric oncology ward who are facing procedures, Youth Off The Streets who will receive $287,375 for 12 Hunter Valley Futures programs that provide tailored early-intervention and education for disadvantaged children and young people aged four to 19 years in Cessnock, Kurri Kurri and Maitland, and YWCA NSW has been allocated $245,300 to go toward the Kitchen Program for at-risk young people aged between 15 and 24 in the Northern Rivers region.

The additional funding for existing partners include the Hunter Medical Research Institute who will receive $330,000 for the globally-significant tenecteplase (TASTE) clinical trials that are targeting improvements in recovery and outcomes for stroke patients, Autism Spectrum Australia who will be given $96,441 to continue the Early Intervention Readiness Program (EIRP) to help more families navigate the challenges they face after their child has been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA), who will receive $77,000 to support the Ignition mentoring program, ‘So What’ Youth Support and Social Group, and a support program for siblings of young Hunter and Central Coast adults living with cerebral palsy or a related disability.

The funding announcement was made at a function where Amy Nosworthy, whose daughter with Autism attended the Early Intervention Readiness Program at Aspect School in Thornton, spoke to Greater staff and management about autism and how the program works.