Categories
Community Education Program

Ansvar Launches Annual 2015 CEP Grants Program

MEDIA RELEASE

Ansvar Insurance, Australia’s leading insurance provider for the care, community, education, faith and heritage sectors, today announced applications are now open for their annual Community Education Program (CEP).

Ansvar’s CEP program provides a range of grants to organisations supporting Australian youth through programs that fall under two categories – Empowerment and Education, and Outreach and Support.  Since the grants were first awarded in 1994, Ansvar has contributed over $10 million to education and life skills programs reaching thousands of young people.

“Government funding continues to get tighter year on year, and this greatly impacts the valuable work being done by community and not-for-profit organisations.  More than ever, these organisations rely on the support of business and the community to help fund their efforts, and we are delighted to be able to contribute in some way.” said Warren Hutcheon, CEO Ansvar.

“This year we’re asking an even greater range of organisations to apply for a CEP grant, to allow us to select from as many worthwhile recipients as possible.” said Warren.

In 2014, organisations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia, The Shepherd Centre, 20th Man Fund Vision Australian, 3rd Space Mob, Youth Focus, Muscular Dystrophy NSW and Motivational Media were   all awarded grants for their community programs.

Jim Markovski, Operations Manager, Youth Services for 20th Man Fund, confirmed the Ansvar CEP grants had delivered a very positive impact on the 20th Man program this year.

“Our leadership program embraces young people who come from diverse and disadvantaged back grounds. We’re helping them to build up their hopes and resilience, to inspire them to be whatever they want to be. The funding we received from Ansvar supports a twelve month youth program we are currently running which is designed to assist younger members to develop more effective lifestyle and leadership skills.

It is helping to change the lives of 32 young people, and consists of workshops, guest speakers, five day survival wilderness camps, and a variety of outings.  They also run their own graduation ceremony sharing their achievements with their peers, families and sponsors,” said Jim.

Vision Australia was another recipient from the last round of CEP grants.  Deb Renshaw-Jones, National Submissions Manager, said the grants have a life-changing impact on students who are visually impaired and who, without the help of Vision Australia, would have difficulty accessing their degree’s written material and coursework.

“The 2014 Ansvar CEP Grants made it possible for Vision Australia to support six individuals who are blind or have low vision with a Further Education Bursary of specialised adaptive technology, specific to their needs and level of vision. These Bursaries help to ensure that these students can fully participate and succeed in their chosen studies,” said Deb.

When Ben Dierikx was studying for a Doctorate of Anthropology at ANU, the Vision Australia Further Education Bursary provided him with a convertible netbook to slate computer, a Pearl high speed scanner with Openbook OCR software, a DAISY player and an iPad.

“The equipment I have received from the Vision Australia Bursary has revolutionised my previous inability to access written material, essential to my study. Without it I would have been as good as illiterate trying to write a doctoral thesis. You can imagine the difference it’s made,” said a delighted Ben Dierikx.

 

Applications for the Ansvar CEP Grants are now open and will close at 5.00pm on Friday 5 September 2014. All applicants will be contacted in December 2014, with successful applicants receiving grants in January 2015. To apply for one of the Community Education Program grants or to find out more, visit /about-us/community-investment/

 

About the Community Education Program grant categories:

  • Empowerment and Education: Programs which provide opportunities to develop positive values that lead to healthy lifestyle choices and a positive contribution to our community.
  • Outreach and Support Programs: Programs that support at risk youths who are at risk or are already experiencing difficulties (such as drug and/or alcohol abuse) through rehabilitation and/or skills training.
Categories
Broker Forums

Ansvar Broker Forum Address “Betrayal of Trust” at Melbourne Event

MEDIA RELEASE

Ansvar Insurance, Australia’s leading insurance provider for the care, community, education, faith and heritage sectors will convene a series of broker forums in May.

The Melbourne forum, entitled “Betrayal of Trust”, expected to attract a large number of brokers, will feature an address by Nick Wakeling, MP for Ferntree Gully, and Committee Member for the Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into the handling of the child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations.

“This is a highly topical issue, and one that carries significant responsibility for the insurance industry, both for the institutions they work with, and for those on the receiving end in those environments that are meant to offer safe and protective care at all times” said Nick.

“The topic at the Melbourne broker forum is directly related to the level of inquiry and interest from our customers and broker partners,” said Warren Hutcheon, CEO, Ansvar.

“We’re grateful for Nick Wakeling’s commitment of time for this important forum on an issue that is critical to the well-being of the vulnerable. Ansvar’s specialist expertise in the care, community and faith sectors allows us to raise this issue to ensure we provide a greater understanding for our brokers dealing with their clients in these sectors. It is incredibly important for Ansvar to help organisations protect those who are in their care.

“The Ansvar broker events provide our brokers and partners with the opportunity to hear about topical mainstream issues facing our customers, and enable a collaborative approach in tackling these challenges and issues,” Warren said.

The broker forums are scheduled nationally in all major centres including Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. Melbourne’s forum is focused on the “Betrayal of Trust” topic, and the remainder of the forums in the other centres will address “Avoiding a Crisis Through Risk Management”.

Dates for Ansvar Broker Forums:

Adelaide – 13th May

Melbourne – 15th May

Sydney – 16th May

Perth – 21st May

Brisbane – 23rd May

Categories
Community Education Program

Ansvar Awards $250,000 in Grants for Community Education Program

MEDIA RELEASE

Ansvar Insurance, Australia’s leading insurance provider for the care, community, education, faith and heritage sectors, today announced the 2014 grant recipients of its annual Community Education Program (CEP), which provides grants to organisations supporting young Australians through education and life skills programs.  Nominations for this year’s grants program have more than doubled compared to 2013.

Established in 1994, the grants are aimed at programs for young people (under the age of 25) and fall under two categories – Empowerment and Education, and Outreach and Support.  Over the last two decades, Ansvar has contributed over $10 Million to the lives of thousands of young people.

“We’re delighted to announce this year’s very worthy recipients of the Community Education Program, all of whom have demonstrated passion and commitment to their cause,” said Deirdre Blythe, Acting CEO, Ansvar Australia

“This is at the heart of Ansvar’s philosophy of investing profits into charitable causes. Our parent company is a charity so all our profits are invested into the community. Given the care and community sectors are core to our business; this is our opportunity to support organisations that focus on supporting others.

“We’re so proud of the diversity of the recipient organisations that enrich the lives of young people, so they can develop their own lives and share their skills and experiences with their peers,” said Deirdre.

Jenni Farrands, Director of the 3rd Space Mob Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation, said the funding received from Ansvar for the Student Leadership Program provided essential support to the program.

“The funding from Ansvar will help the project to reach approximately 300 young people, their families and their communities.  The grant will fund group leadership training, a number of day camps, as well as workshop presenters and other resources, all of which will strengthen the young people’s capacity to become engaged and independent adults,” said Jenni

Another successful grant recipient, The Shepherd Centre is a charity organisation supporting parents and carers of children with hearing loss to develop the necessary skills to teach their child to listen and speak. Beside the centre based activities, The Shepherd Centre provides specialised workshops to meet the urgent demand of rural and remote families.

Jim Hungerford, The Shepherd Centre CEO, said the Ansvar funding will make a real difference in providing the means to run workshop and therapy sessions for the deaf children.

“There is no greater need than for parents and carers to communicate effectively with their children, and the Auditory-Verbal Therapy sessions which the Ansvar funds are contributing to, are critical for this.  Our program allows us to open a world of sound for deaf children by providing families with the tools they need for their children to confidently acquire the skills to help them become independent young people,” Mr Hungerford said.

The Ansvar award recipients for 2014 are:

Motivational Media – IMPACT program for young people to help them reach their true potential

Muscular Dystrophy NSW – The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program for young people with neurological condition

Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia – Community based mentoring program

The Shepherd Centre – Let’s get Loud – social inclusion of deaf children living in rural and remote areas

3rd Space Mob Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation –

Southern Gumbaynggirr SLIKK (Student Leadership is for Koori Kids)

Twentieth Man Fund Inc. – EMBRACE – Personal development youth leadership program

Youth Focus – Youth Counselling

Vision Australia Limited – Adaptive Technology Project for Students with Vision Loss   living in Victoria

About the Community Education Program grant categories:

Empowerment and Education: Programs which provide opportunities to develop positive values that lead to healthy lifestyle choices and a positive contribution to our community.

Outreach and Support Programs: Programs that support youths who are at risk or are already experiencing difficulties (such as drug and/or alcohol abuse) through rehabilitation and/or skills training.