THE Federal Government has secured funding to continue the region’s PlayAbility services until June 30, 2017, it was announced this week.
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Member for Eden-Monaro Peter Hendy announced the community organisation will receive $348,994 in funding from the Coalition government to ensure certain services can continue for at least a further two financial years.
“This is good news for Eden-Monaro, particularly for the children and parents in the Bega Valley who benefit from these services,” Dr Hendy said.
The Bega District News reported in early May that federal funding cuts to PlayAbility would potentially spell the end for the organisation’s supported playgroups and mobile toy library services.
Bega had not been seen as a “priority area” at the time the Department of Social Services (DSS) moved to put a stop to funding.
“PlayAbility’s initial Federal Government funding application under the Department of Social Services’ New Way of Working for Grants scheme was unsuccessful,” Dr Hendy said.
“I am proud to have assisted in providing certainty for PlayAbility and look forward to them continuing to provide their services in the local community.”
A happy recipient of the news was PlayAbility’s service manager Marcelle Van Gasselt, who said the organisation can restructure to the funding after only recently putting together a shoestring budget in order to continue its services.
“It’s awesome, we are absolutely over the moon for families all over the Bega Valley,” she said on Thursday.
“I think it was due to community pressure overall.
“Only two weeks ago we told the families face to face and you could see people panicking, and now two weeks later we’re restructuring again.
“I’m thankful everyone hung in there,” she said.
“It is hard to give people job security when it’s so uncertain like this.”
PlayAbility has been operating in the region for 30 years and currently services an average of 140 families across the shire, 30 of which have children with additional needs.
Ms Van Gasselt said the services will be back up and running by the middle to the end of August this year.