Cash boost for community bus

CASEY’S elderly and disabled residents are set to benefit from a new community bus.
This week, the State Government announced that Casey would receive a $261,525 boost for a range of projects to strengthen local communities.
Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan said $86,525 would fund a new community bus and $175,000 for Volunteer Support Grants to support, extend and sustain volunteer activity within the Casey community.
Casey Council will now use the Community Bus Program Grant to purchase a new community bus to provide accessible and affordable transport to older people and people with a disability.
The funding will also go towards exploring ways to make better use of existing local transport services.
The $175,000 Volunteer Support Grant will assist the City of Casey explore ways to get more residents involved in their community, particularly volunteering.
Mr. Donnellan said the project would look at ways to encourage volunteering by providing improved training and development opportunities for volunteers.
“These grants will help people get involved and develop existing community assets to better meet their needs,” he said.
Casey mayor Kevin Bradford said the new bus would help counc-il further expand its fleet of com-munity buses.
He said he hoped the bus would be utilised in a place of highest need and was pleased to see the State Government again addressing the needs of Casey as it continued to grow.