Turning out to help

By Lia Bichel
A NARRE Warren support service received a welcomed boost from the Inner Wheel Club of Berwick this week which will help fund educational costs for disadvantaged children.
Inner Wheel donated $3000 which will go towards CASEY North CISS Education Assistance Program which is part of the organisations Emergency Relief Program.
Casey North CISS Manager Susan Magee said the Narre Warren organisation provided support services to the north end of the municipality that accommodates about two thirds of Casey’s population, which is more than 256,000.
Ms Magee said it was estimated that more than 47,000 of Casey’s population is schools-aged.
“The need for this assistance grows each year.
“More and more families are finding it difficult to make ends meet as the cost of living increases and private rental rates spiral,” she said.
“The Education Assistance Program aims to help those families at that difficult time of the year when they are just getting over the expense of Christmas and school holiday and then continues throughout the year as funds allow with expenses such as winter uniforms.
Ms Magee said there was a need for the program in the municipality.
“This is something we established because we saw that, in the City of Casey, there were a lot of families struggling at the beginning of the year and throughout the year to cover all the educations costs involved in children’s schoolings,” she said.
“We think it is extremely important children to participate and enjoy the full educational program.
“It’s important for them to have the right texts and uniforms or to be able to join in on things like swimming and camping.”
Ms Magee said she was grateful for the Inner Wheel donation and said she was finding it increasingly difficult to secure funding for Casey North CISS’s important services.
“It’s great to have these donations,” she said.
“It’s becoming harder to attract funds, but all donations are tax deductible.”
Disadvantaged children will also benefit from a Casey Council funding boost.
Councillors supported councillor Simon Curtis’s move at last week’s council meeting that general sponsorship of $3500 to Casey North CISS and $3500 to Cranbourne CISS was allocated to support a trial project enabling access to school holiday activities for disadvantaged families.