Written by
20 February 2023
We’re pleased to announce that the 2023 Cedar Woods Community Grants program is now open for Victorian applications.
The Community Grants program aims to actively support our local community by providing funding for initiatives that create an impact and aid in the growth of our communities.
To date, more than $500,000 has been donated nationally as part of this program, helping many groups, organisations, and initiatives thrive and come to life.
Any groups, organisations and businesses that benefit our community are welcome to apply, including not-for-profits, sporting clubs, community groups, educational institutions, residents associations, and local businesses.
Edgars Creek Primary School is just one of our 2022 Community Grants recipients, and we recently sat down with Sara Johns, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator, to learn a bit more about their experience with the Community Grants program.
Tell us a little bit about Edgars Creek Primary School?
Our primary school is two years young, opening in Wollert in 2021 with just 400 students. Since opening, we have grown considerably and now have approximately 650 students enrolled at our school.
As a school, our aim is to support each student that comes through our doors academically, socially, emotionally, and physically, so they can grow into well-adjusted young people who perform to their very best in all areas.
We have a strong focus on empowering our students and work diligently to foster their curiosity and creativity so they feel confident in exploring all that life has to offer.
Our students are really wonderful and the staff are truly passionate about what they do, and it’s been a joy to watch the school community flourish over the past two years.
How did you hear about the Community Grants program and why did you decide to apply?
We initially received an email from the Cedar Woods team informing us of the program and we decided to apply as we saw how being a grant recipient could really benefit our staff, students, and the wider school community.
Our school opened its doors during the COVID restrictions of 2021, which made it really difficult to foster the connections with our families that are so important in a school community. We wanted to begin holding community events to foster these relationships, and we could see how a Cedar Woods Community Grant could enable us to do this.
How did you use this funding in 2022, and how did this help to support the Edgars Creek school community?
We used our funding to purchase some much needed equipment for our community room: an automated coffee machine, a popcorn machine, and a slushie machine.
These may seem like small purchases, but these have already proven invaluable as having this equipment has allowed us to hold catered events at our school, including a diversity dash and Meet the Teacher day, which has helped us to foster relationships with the families within our school community.
These events have also helped us to raise some much needed funds to support our children, and we are very thankful for the grant that has facilitated these.
On behalf of everyone at Edgars Creek Primary School, I would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude for this funding.
I would also like to encourage any community groups to apply for the 2023 program, the Cedar Woods team were very supportive and helpful along the way which made the application process a breeze.
