70 community grants funded through DineSmart 2014 have just been announced. Restaurants and their diners, plus online donations helped us raise $254,300 for distribution.
So far, since 2003, StreetSmart has now raised over $3.4 million, supporting 1009 projects; a huge milestone for our tiny not for profit organisation.
We celebrate our 1000th Community Grant with Iramoo Youth Refuge, an organisation that supports young people who are at risk of homelessness by providing housing and support through their six-week crisis accommodation program in Footscray, Melbourne.
“To be the recipient of the 1000th StreetSmart Community Grant is so special. We have been fortunate to have received wonderful support from StreetSmart over the last ten years”, said Alistair Sutherland, Manager, Iramoo Youth Refuge.
“Finding funding for a service as small as ours is never easy to come by, but StreetSmart have been there for us and the projects they are willing to support make a real difference to our work and the outcomes we can achieve for our young homeless clients.”
CEO of StreetSmart, Adam Robinson said that despite being in its 12th year, there is as strong an appetite to address homelessness than ever before, both within the hospitality sector that supports both DineSmart and CafeSmart events, and the broader community.
“Each year I am overwhelmed by the support of our participating restaurants and the broader public. To know that we have now given over 1,000 grants to local communities across Australia, is an extraordinary effort by our partners, volunteers and supporters – something myself and the broader StreetSmart team is really proud of. Our partnership with the hospitality industry has been the backbone of our successes and we couldn’t have had our community impact without them”.
The latest grants were distributed based on the amount local communities raised.
| State |
Projects |
Grants $ |
| ACT | 3 | $4,800 |
| NSW | 15 | $55,000 |
| QLD | 13 | $36,000 |
| SA | 6 | $11,500 |
| VIC | 33 | $147,000 |
| TOTAL |
70 | $254,300 |
On hearing the news a number of organisations emailed back their thanks…
“Woo hoo! Thank you to all at StreetSmart! What a great way to start the week!
You folks absolutely rock! Cheers, Dave.”
Dave Burnet , Manager, OzHarvest Canberra
“This is absolutely fabulous news for WIPAN. Streetsmart Australia your dedicated work in raising funds and then providing those funds as grants for small NGO’s working in the homelessness sector is extremely inspiring. Your work has such positive and broad reaching consequences for some of our communities most disadvantaged people. Your grant will now enable WIPAN’s referral scheme to directly support homeless women, affected by the criminal justice system, to be referred directly to the very services that can provide temporary, safe and affordable housing. Thanks to Streetsmart Australia the WIPAN referral scheme will positively change women’s lives and provide real empowerment. Thank you Streetsmart Australia – your work is truly achieving significant results for WIPAN’s disadvantaged homeless women”
Kat Armstrong, Director, WIPAN
“That is fantastic news. This Street Smart grant means that we can deliver comprehensive Legal Health Check training and resources to homelessness caseworkers in Southern Brisbane, allowing us to collaborate in providing accessible, targeted and free legal services to effectively address the legal needs of homeless Queenslanders. We are grateful to StreetSmart for their generous contribution to this project and for their continued support.”
Cameron Lavery, Coordinator, QPILCH Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic
“Once again, thank you so much for these funds. They certainly go a long way to help us to do the work we do and it is really appreciated. You are awesome.” Andrew Everingham, CEO and Founder, Sydney Homeless Connect
