Sunshine Coast Airport has announced a new $15,000 Community Support Fund with grant applications now open for eligible community groups and organisations.
Grants of up to $1000 will be available to help deliver initiatives that support local community, tourism, cultural, sporting, educational and environmental activities on the Sunshine Coast and Noosa.
“Sunshine Coast Airport is a proud supporter of the local community,” Sunshine Coast Airport CEO Chris Mills said.
“The Community Support Fund will be a boost for community groups and organisations who are creating positive change in our region.
The grant application process will run until April 21. For more information, eligibility requirements and terms and conditions, click here.
TV star supports Melanoma March
Former BelowDeck star and Sunshine Coast resident Ashling Lorger is urging people to join the Melanoma March campaign, to raise research funds and help stop the glamourisation of tanning.
Events are being held across the country to raise awareness and support Melanoma Institute Australia’s life-saving research. Melanoma March Sunshine Coast will be held at the Buhk Family Park, Alexandra Headland, on Sunday.
For Ms Lorger, supporting Melanoma March is personal as her father was diagnosed when she was six years old, and she had a melanoma removed from her back last year.
She said sun safety was particularly important in Australia and that people should be more aware of the risks associated with sun tanning.
“I don’t want to risk my life just for the sake of a tan,” she said.
Masters surf lifesaving success
Mooloolaba Surf Club has claimed the 2024 Queensland Masters Surf Lifesaving Championship.
It was a hard-fought battle at Kirra Beach on the Gold Coast last weekend, with some challenging conditions, big surf, challenging rips and sweeps.
The club took out the title with 341 points, followed by Alexandra Headlands with 259 points. Mooloolaba’s medal tally over the weekend was 20 gold, 22 silver and 14 bronze. Thirty-six surf lifesaving clubs and about 500 competitors from around Queensland competed in the event.
“There is a wonderful sense of pride and a great vibe amongst our Mooloolaba masters,” team manager Paul ‘Buck’ Rogers said.
Competitors are now preparing for The Aussies from April 13-21, which are being held at Alex, Maroochydore and Mooloolaba.
Murder mystery on stage
The elegant romance of Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries is captured in Maleny Players’ The Real Inspector Hound, which is coming to the Playhouse at Maleny Showgrounds in April.
The glamorous characters within Tom Stoppard’s Christie-style play are the usual confident but confused artistocrats, trapped together in an isolated manor. Add an unidentified body hidden in a sofa and you have the recipe for suspense – and a manor full of laughs.
Lady Cynthia Molloy (Deb Holland) and competing debutante Felicity (Claire Watkins) are kept busy charming new and old lovers – alive and dead.
The dress-up gala performance on Friday, April 5, will be the first to unravel a fascinating mystery in a theatre set within a theatre set, complete with two critics ready to strut their knowledgeable pomposity.
It runs until April 21 with 7pm and 2pm matinee performances over three weekends. For tickets click here.
Events promote neighbourly connections
Noosa Council is aiming to foster community connections and enhance disaster resilience with a series of engaging events to celebrate Neighbour Day.
Community recovery and resilience officer Angela Romanowski said that while Neighbour Day is on March 31 , this year the council is ready to open the celebrations with not one but two events within a week.
“We are so excited to bring the community together, reintroduce and foster neighbourly connections, and impart crucial disaster resilience knowledge in a fun and informal setting both at the Kin Kin and Noosaville locations,” she said.
The Noosaville event will be held on Tuesday, March 26, from 3-5pm at “The Park”, 34 Lake Entrance Boulevard, and attendees can enjoy a free afternoon tea. The event will feature music, disaster resilience information, emergency kit examples and activities for children.
The second event – a Neighbour Day barbecue, hosted by Kin Kin Community House – will take place on Wednesday, March 27, at the Kin Kin Oval from 3-8pm. The Cooroy Pomona Lions Club will provide the barbecue from 3-5pm, accompanied by live music, disaster resilience information and children’s activities.
Chance for kids to design cities
Children’s imaginations will run wild these school holidays as The MET in the Maroochydore city centre becomes a playground for the next generation of builders and placemakers to design their own cities from loose and recycled parts.
The popular City Makers School Holidays Workshop allows kids aged 3-12 to get hands-on experience with real tools as they construct their urban creations, surrounded by the real-life construction sites of The Corso, 50 First Avenue and the Maroochy Private Hospital.
Using materials from local tips, construction sites and op shops, kids can build their own dream cities using handsaws, hammers, nails and hand drills, fostering a sense of confidence and a ‘can-do’ attitude to problem solving.
“We’re hoping to nurture kid’s creativity and inspire future generations of city builders and innovators,” SunCentral CEO Amanda Yeates said.
The workshops are on from April 3-5 from 9.30-11.30am. Tickets are $8, click here.
Bombing survivor set to inspire
Bali bombing survivor Julian Burton will be the special guest at a breakfast where he will discuss how being grateful is a choice and the impact it can have on your life.
In 2002 Mr Burton experienced the unimaginable when he suffered life-threatening third-degree burns in the Bali bombings terrorist attack. Throughout his arduous rehabilitation he was profoundly moved by the outpouring of support from his community. This experience ignited his passion for giving back, leading him to establish the Julian Burton Burns Trust in 2003.
Buderim Foundation chair Rod McKinnon said the organisation was thrilled to have Mr Burton come to present at the fundraising breakfast at Headland Golf Club on Wednesday, April 10.
“Julian’s story is one of resilience and optimism so we are thrilled to extend an invitation to the community to come and hear more about his extraordinary journey, where he will highlight the profound impact of gratitude, kindness, and purpose in overcoming life’s adversities,” Mr McKinnon said.
To find out more and purchase tickets click here.
Over $64k raised for STEPS
Radio announcers Mark and Caroline and Todd and Sami have raised more than $64,000 for STEPS Pathways College via their 30km charity walk from Maroochydore to Caloundra.
The team from 92.7 MIX FM received droves of support for STEPS, which is an intensive training course designed to provide young adults with a disability and autism with the opportunity to further develop the skills needed to experience a life of independence
STEPS managing director Carmel Crough said the walk would make a huge impact.
“Everyone who took part in this year’s Steps for STEPS – our incredible walkers, our supporters and volunteers, local businesses and the community, have helped make the future brighter for young people with a disability and autism,” she said.
“The funds raised at this year’s event will help current and future students at STEPS Pathways College learn new skills, gain confidence, and receive the holistic support that will see them achieve a level of independence they never before thought possible,” she said.
Garage Sale Trail success
Noosa residents turned their stash of unwanted items into more than $17,000 in cash in last November’s inaugural Garage Sale Trail event.
This extended the life of 20,394kg of pre-loved items, 37 per cent of which would otherwise have gone to landfill.
Project officer Jo Ferris said the figures highlighted Noosa’s commitment to reducing waste.
“We had 2270 people take part in the two big weekends of garage sales across Noosa,” she said. “Programs like Garage Sale Trail are important in shifting perceptions of secondhand and supporting the transition to a circular economy by getting more people reusing items rather than sending them to landfill.”
Residents keen to snag a bargain or turn their stash into cash can now register their interest in the 2024 event, which takes place on November 9-10 and 16-17.
Nature-friendly gardens
“Rewilding” backyards has become popular as residents look to entice bees, birds and butterflies into their gardens, and a Sunshine Coast environment community group is teaching our community how to achieve this.
Recognising an increasing interest from people wanting to swap their perfectly manicured lawn for a more natural one, Barung Landcare created the Gardens for Wildlife program.
Inspired by a similar program in Tasmania, it gives those with smaller rural blocks, urban gardens or even tiny balconies the knowledge and resources to create their own nature-friendly garden.
Gardens for Wildlife Sunshine Coast is free to join as part of an annual Barung Landcare membership, which starts at $35. Sign up here.
Sunshine Coast environmental community groups are encouraged to apply for a grant to help fund the vital work they do for our wildlife and natural environment. To learn more click here.
Apprentices showcase skills
TAFE Queensland’s Nambour campus hosted the regional WorldSkills plumbing competition for East Coast last month, providing seven local apprentices with the opportunity to showcase their skills for the chance to compete on the national stage.
Fourth-year apprentice and Brad Johns Plumbing Services employee Tim Shearer emerged victorious, earning the gold medal for his workmanship during the day-long competition, which required participants to create an outline of Australia using four different types of pipe systems.
“It was a good opportunity to put my skills to the test,” Mr Shearer said. “When I looked at the handout instructions, there were so many that I thought it would take forever, but it felt pretty good to win gold. It’s pretty exciting to have the opportunity to compete at the national championships.”
This event is the first stage of the prestigious WorldSkills competition, with the regional medallists from more than 60 trades and skills given the opportunity to progress to the national competition in Brisbane in 2025.
WorldSkills is the largest vocational educational and training competition in the country, where competitors test their skills across over 50 different trade and skills areas. To follow the competition click here.
Not-for-profit groups share grants
Six community organisations have shared in $112,141 across the Glass House electorate courtesy of round 118 of the Gambling Community Benefit Fund.
The fund provides grants to Queensland not-for-profit community organisations, with revenue sourced from gaming taxes.
“These grants are my first recommendation when individuals and community groups approach me to ask where they should seek funding for their endeavours from,” Member for Glass House Andrew Powell said.
The winning groups were Maleny District Sport and Rec Club, Mooloolah Community Men’s Shed, Peachester State School P&C, Peachester Community Hall, Hinterland Music Club and Maternity Choices Australia.
For more information and to apply click here.
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