connectABLE Project Wins $20k Grant

10 Jul 2014

Community Care Options’ connectABLE project will continue to help break down attitude barriers for people with a disability thanks to a $20,000 grant from Endeavour Foundation Endowment Challenge Fund.

The grant will help to conduct community education workshops and produce a documentary film aimed at reducing barriers and increasing  meaningful community participation.

Chairperson of the Endeavour Foundation Endowment Challenge Fund Grant Murdoch said the connectABLE project, would aim to make social, sporting and recreational activities more ‘disability friendly’ within the Coffs Harbour and Bellingen regions.

“Experience has shown Community Care Options that some groups within the local communities are ready to include members with specific support needs, but many are still uncertain about how to do this,” Mr Murdoch said.

“The funding for this project will build community capacity for social inclusion through a series of workshops and the documentary. Already 40 groups in the region of New South Wales have indicated their desire to participate in this project.”

Community Care Options Community Engagement Officer, Kate Warner, said it was one thing to identify as ‘disability friendly’, but it was another to actively include people of varying abilities in community activities.

“We’re really excited to be able to pursue the connectABLE project across our region,” Ms Warner said.

“The idea began as a community conversation and now, with the assistance of the Endeavour Foundation Endowment Challenge Fund grant, not only can we pursue some of the social inclusion capacity building initiatives groups have identified, but we can also capture this journey so it can be shared with others.”

The Endeavour Foundation Endowment Challenge Fund is a public benevolent institution that seeks to benefit the wider Australian disability sector as a whole, with an emphasis on people with an intellectual disability.

The Endowment Challenge Fund is a capital-preserved fund where donations made to the fund are invested and the interest earned is used to support Endowment Challenge Fund activities.

For more information about connectABLE visit www.cco.net.au/community

Back row left to right: Brian Davitt, Roger Harris, Christina Monneron, Harry Seller, Robert Arnold, Jenny Arnold, Owen Gilliland Front row left to right: Danielle Matignier-Babb, Tess Mylrea, Ronald Marke, Kate Warner, Lorraine Mouafi, Renee Atkins, Carrie Skinner