• Charles Sturt University Community University Program (CUP) grants worth a total of $9,900 have been awarded to 10 Mid North Coast organisations to assist with community programs

Charles Sturt University in Port Macquarie has presented Community University Program (CUP) grants worth a total of $9,900 to 10 organisations on the Mid North Coast to assist with community programs.

Charles Sturt University Director of External Engagement (Port Macquarie) Ms Kate Wood-Foye (picture far right in top photo) said the CUP Grant program is a wonderful way to support the community at a critical grassroots level.

The program is designed to assist regional projects that support cultural, economic, sporting and environmental development or higher education aspirations, particularly among youth in the University’s regions.

“CUP grants enable the University to connect and support wonderful projects and people in our region and also build awareness of the opportunities available close to home for a university education. This helps to increase aspiration for higher education in our rural and regional communities,” Ms Wood-Foye said.

Examples of the diverse regional organisations to receive a CUP grant are the Zonta Club of Port Macquarie, the Port Macquarie Surfboard Riders Club and the Manning Valley Hockey Association.

The Manning Valley Hockey Association (MVHA) Officials’ Pathways Program received a $1,000 CUP grant to deliver onsite Coaching and Umpiring Courses delivered by qualified officials from its governing body, Hockey NSW.

The program aims to remove the barriers preventing upskilling of officials in the smaller country community. It will support the growth and development of coaches and umpires to provide pathways to success and will have a positive effect for the wider hockey community and underpin future opportunities for competitive hockey on the Mid North Coast.

MVHA Treasurer Mr Adam Scarff said the MVHA is fortunate to have coaches and umpires who are passionate and knowledgeable, but they are not being given the same opportunities to upskill as metropolitan associations.

“The regional location of the MVHA facility has meant that in the past we have not been able to secure access to coaching and umpiring courses locally, and it has been more than 10 years since a course of this type has been run in our area,” Mr Scarff said.

“The MVHA is working with Hockey NSW to secure dates to deliver the courses in the area and the Charles Sturt University CUP grant makes this possible.”

The Zonta Club of Port Macquarie Inc. is a human rights organisation dedicated to empowering women and girls around the world and in its own community and is keen to partner with Melville High School which has a high Aboriginal enrolment and is also a recipient of the prestigious Zonta Achievement Award for a Young Indigenous Woman.

The Zonta Club has received a $1,000 CUP grant to help stage its project, ‘Birthing Kit assembly with Year 9 to Year 12 students from Melville High School Kempsey’.

The club will purchase birthing kits from the Birthing Kit Foundation of Australia (BKFA), based in Adelaide. The Birthing Kits packed by students on the Charles Sturt Port Macquarie campus go to women living in and facing the most challenging of circumstances when they give birth. The students learn first-hand the value of these kits to end users and how helping disadvantaged communities can improve the students’ and recipients’ mental and physical wellbeing.

The Port Macquarie Surfboard Riders’ Club (PMSRC) is an inclusive and progressive board riders’ club that hosts monthly contest meetings around Port Macquarie and is constantly looking at ways to develop and retain its members.

The club has 84 members of whom 15 are female (aged eight to 50 years and more). Through its program ‘Retention, Recruitment and Develop - Female surf development sessions’ it hopes to boost female interest in surfing, develop the skills of its female members, and retain female membership in the club, or boost it.

The PMSRC received a $1,000 CUP grant to help stage its program of three workshops for girls led by an elite female surfer in the Mid North Coast area. Each workshop will host a surf session, morning tea, a Q&A session and provide a welcoming environment.

The other organisations in the region to receive Charles Sturt CUP grants are:

• St Agnes Primary School – NAIDOC Week celebrations - $1,000
• Wauchope Thunder Junior Rugby Club – Coaching program - $1,000
• Bulahdelah Central School – Student Health and Wellbeing program - $1,000
• Mackillop College – NAIDOC Week celebrations - $1,000
• Young Minds Thrive – Early Education Intervention program - $1,000
• Willawarrin Pony Club – Purchase of equipment - $1,000
• Wingham Music Festival – Off-stage performance area - $1,000

In 2024 the University received 160 CUP grant applications across its regional NSW footprint, with 73 projects awarded a total of $70,283.

Grant categories include Arts and Culture, Sports Development, Education Development, Health and Wellbeing, and Environmental Sustainability.

Applications for the 2025 Charles Sturt CUP Grants program open at the beginning of next year and can be made via the ‘Grants’ page on the Charles Sturt website.