Emergency food supplies during Cyclone Seroja, mental health programs and services for childhood health were among the key charitable causes which shared in $248,000 of Harvest Mass Management funding this year.
Developed by the CBH Group and Main Roads WA, the Harvest Mass Management Scheme (HMMS) seeks to reduce the frequency of overloaded grain trucks during harvest.
Under the HMMS, growers can forfeit grain from overloaded trucks which is then sold and the funds provided to Western Australian charities nominated by growers and CBH employees.
During the 2020-21 season, $248,000 was raised from the grain sales which has been donated to 14 charities including Mental Illness Fellowship of WA (MIFWA).
Other charities include Ronald McDonald House; St John Ambulance; Foodbank; The; Fiona Wood Foundation; Farmers Across Borders; Telethon Speech and Hearing, Lions Cancer institute, Wheatbelt and Beyond Mentoring, Perth Children’s Hospice Foundation, DV Assist, Wheatbelt Mens Health; Injury Matters and Anglicare.
The HMMS has provided grass roots charities and community organisations with valuable funding, with more than $1.8 million distributed since the scheme began in 2012.
With thanks to the generous donation of $18,000, MIFWA will be able to provide additional mental health and suicide prevention training to grain growing communities across Western Australia as part of the CBH Regional Mental Wellness Program.
Since 2020, the CBH Regional Mental Wellness Program and donations from the HMMS have enabled MIFWA to make a positive impact on regional grain growing communities with 272 people attending training and workshops, including art therapy, Daring Greatly, Mental Health First Aid (Standard, Youth, Teen and Online), and safeTALK. Furthermore, a new Custom Regional Mental Wellness Workshop for Teens was designed and piloted to young people aged 11 to 18 years of age in schools across the Wheatbelt.
We look forward to providing even more support to grain growing communities in WA over the coming years.
For information on how MIFWA can support your regional grain growing community with mental health and suicide prevention training and workshops, contact Janine Ripper at Janine.ripper@mifwa.org.au.
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