Back to School Vouchers

Funded by the generosity of donors and in partnership with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), the Foundation has been able to provide $50 vouchers to Bass Coast schools and organisations on an annual basis since 2005. Distributed to local families struggling to meet the costs of a new school year, the vouchers can be redeemed for school essentials like uniforms, shoes, school bags or stationery.

Bass Coast Community Foundation Chairperson Phil Friedlos said “Given the tough couple of years we’ve had, it’s so pleasing we’ve been able to provide this support to schools to help them make sure there are no kids prevented from being able to fully participate in school activities,” he said.

“Each voucher may only be small, but we know they are used by our local schools and organisations in very targeted ways and can be the difference between a child feeling like they are part of the school community or not,” he said.

Christina Burns, from the Bass Coast Specialist School said “this is an amazing and generous program that really benefits our students.” Her comments have been reiterated by many of the schools across Bass Coast.

The latest allocation of Back to School vouchers brings a total of $345,000 worth of vouchers the Foundation has been able to allocate to local schools as part of their involvement with the program over 17 years.