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

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.