For the fourteenth year in a row the Bass Coast Community Foundation has distributed Back to School vouchers to local schools and Bass Coast Health’s Family Resource Centre to help local families struggling to meet the costs of a new school year.
Who Received Vouchers
- Low economic struggling families that visibly present as in need.
- Clients of Centrelink or in crisis.
- Families facing financial hardship .
- Families who have low income, have experienced recent tragedy or trauma and are known to Allied Health organisations.
- Families eligible for CSEF funding, as well as additional financial needs.
- Students will parents facing serious ill health.
- Victims of family violence.
Funded through the generosity of the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), and distributed by the Bass Coast Community Foundation, the vouchers have a value of $50. While this might not seem a great deal of money to some, it can and does make a great deal of difference to the families concerned. It can mean school shoes that fit properly, school uniform items like all the other kids, enough stationery and other requisites for the year, or a warm and waterproof jacket for winter.
When delivering vouchers to schools, Foundation Board Members and the Executive Officer heard that sometimes the vouchers are used to buy such basics as toiletries, socks and underwear for children whose families struggle on very low incomes.
As all families know, the costs of sending children back to school can have a big impact on a family budget early in the year. For families already struggling this impact can be huge.
In 2019 the Foundation has distributed vouchers with a combined value of $29,700 – taking the total value of vouchers distributed to local families over the 14 years to nearly $250,000.