Fundraising excellence in the Yarra Ranges through community, collaboration and commitment

Seventy-five kilometres east of Melbourne sits the picturesque Yarra Valley. Here you will find three-year round recreation facilities with which Belgravia Foundation has collaborated to make a real difference in the lives of the local community.

Belgravia Leisure operates the facilities on behalf of Yarra Ranges Council. Collaborating with Belgravia Foundation, these facilities have created local partnerships, submitted grants and engaged in fundraising that have raised a whopping $15,553.48, with all of this money used to support local community members experiencing adversity to connect to leisure, and gain an opportunity for improvement in health and happiness.

This extraordinary effort has occurred over the course of three years, led by Belgravia Leisure’s local community engagement coordinator Aleksei Bondarenko-Edwards, with outstanding support by the Belgravia Leisure teams operating and leading facilities. Aleksei said of the effort: ‘None of this would be possible without our strong partnerships with local agencies, a solid understanding of both our local community and the systems that are available to support them and the Belgravia Foundation of course’.

Collectively, over 2,000 community members have benefited from Belgravia Foundation support since January 2018, with local community organisations receiving training and support from Belgravia Foundation and Belgravia Leisure staff, community members receiving funding to access wellbeing and employment supports and disadvantaged youth being provided access to work experience and more.

Funds have been used to support local projects across the Yarra Ranges community, ranging from community activation events like the annual Move for Mind family fun runs, ongoing wellbeing projects like the Move for Mind partnership projects delivered in collaboration with health promotion and community safety organisations like the Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault (ECASA) or Inspiro health.  Mental Health First Aid training has been provided at subsidised rates to key community groups, enabling them in turn to apply the important training to support community members, and in conjunction with All The Feels, art therapy programs have been provided to parents as well as young people.