An animal clinic in Greensborough is training more volunteers, thanks to a community grant from the North East Community Fund.
The Cat Protection Society, which rehomed more than 1200 cats last year and reunited another 100 cats with their owners, was a successful applicant in a recent round of the $10 million dollar fund that is helping local groups and organisations during construction of the North East Link.
Volunteer Georgie Marinucci said the organisation is important for the local community.
“We obviously love helping these beautiful little critters every day, but we’re also helping people as well,” said Georgie.
“This training and recruitment project is about making sure our current volunteers, and any new ones that we do get, are well trained and really engaged in their roles here and have everything they need to do their roles efficiently and effectively.”
The Cat Protection Society is among more than 150 projects and initiatives that have been funded through the first three rounds of funding, including accessibility upgrades, play equipment for toy libraries, gardening workshops, family fun days, cultural camps, community art exhibitions, upgrades of shared outdoor spaces and scout hall improvements.
It comes as applications are now open for the new round of the North East Community Fund, and community groups and organisations have been encouraged to make submissions by 3:00pm, Tuesday 29 April when applications close.
The fund supports projects in areas that are most impacted by construction. Applications are invited from community organisations in Balwyn North, Box Hill North, Bulleen, Bundoora, Doncaster, Greensborough, Heidelberg, Kew East, Macleod, Mont Albert North, Rosanna, Templestowe Lower, Viewbank, Watsonia, Yallambie.
Online and in-person grant writing workshops are available to help people with applications. The North East Community Fund is one of the many ways that the project will leave a lasting legacy on the communities closest to this major project.
More information about the North East Community Fund and how to apply can be found at https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/north-east-link/community/necf.