NSW Nationals Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson has encouraged local organisations and councils to apply for grant funding for activities for local seniors during the 2022 NSW Seniors Festival.
Mr Anderson said the $200,000 NSW Seniors Festival Grants Program supports initiatives that encourage people aged 60 and over to stay healthy, engaged and active.
“This is a great opportunity to celebrate our local senior’s community by building on their diverse skills and interests in areas like art, music, sport, health, or technology,” Mr Anderson said.
“Local events have been hugely popular and beneficial in the past including the Aussie Bush Bash in Walcha or Gunnedah’s Mackellar Care’s 2-18 ‘Enrichment week’ which ran exercise classes, run in conjunction with community restaurants to improve physical and mental health.
“Programs like these will be vitally important next year when we’re finally able to put COVID restrictions firmly in the rearview mirror.”
Local councils, community groups, and not-for-profit organisations are among those who can apply for grants of up to $10,000.
“Social isolation has been one of the most concerning aspects of the current COVID situation, particularly among our seniors community, so I am keen to see events next year which will break down the barriers to social connectivity and activity,” Mr Anderson said.
The NSW Seniors Festival is the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and has been running for more than 63 years.
The program reinforces the NSW Nationals in the state government’s dedication to older people, outlined in the Ageing Well in NSW: Seniors Strategy 2021-2031
The Seniors Festival will be run from March 25 to April 3, 2022. Applications for grants are now open and close on August 30.
For more information and to apply, please visit: https://www.seniorsfestival.nsw.gov.au/events/nsw-seniors-festival-grants
