Sunshine Coast organisations receive inaugural Thompson Fund Grants to support people in need

Four organisations providing support to people experiencing homelessness and financial distress due to domestic violence and other circumstance on the Sunshine Coast, have received grants totalling $110,000 from the Buderim Foundation Thompson Fund.

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Youturn Youth Support received funds to fit out two Tiny Houses which will provide affordable living for vulnerable young people, and support for driver’s license costs for four young people.

SunnyKids Sunshine Coast received a grant to provide assistance to 100 individuals at risk of homelessness due to domestic violence and economic instability.

Ozharvest received money to purchase over 16 tonnes of food to support 20 recipient agencies that provide essential meals for people in need.

Lily House received a grant to provide funding for emergency living and school needs and food support for women and their children in crisis.

These grants are the first to be distributed from the newly established Buderim Foundation Thompson Fund which is the result of a large multi-million-dollar donation by Sunshine Coast residents Roy and Nola Thompson.

Sunshine Mitre 10 general manager Neil Hutchins with one of the defibrillators, now in every Sunshine Mitre 10 store - hoz

Sunshine Mitre 10 invests in lifesaving defibrillators for every store

WITH 18 stores throughout Queensland, Sunshine Mitre 10, one of the largest independently operated and owned hardware suppliers in Queensland, have invested in lifesaving defibrillators for all its stores.

Sunshine Mitre 10 general manager Neil Hutchins with one of the defibrillators, now in every Sunshine Mitre 10 store.

Sunshine Mitre 10 general manager Neil Hutchins said the defibrillators were an investment in emergency health care not just for their staff, but also for the communities in which they operate.

“We have over 400 staff across our locations, and we take our duty of care very seriously so we have first aid officers at each location, and now we also have defibrillators which can help save lives for anyone experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest,” Mr Hutchins said.

“But it’s not only that, many of our stores are in regional and remote locations so by having a defibrillator on-site, it also makes these lifesaving devices more accessible to the local communities.

“And while it’s a very big investment, if we can save just one life, it will be money very well spent.”

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Free information sessions hold the key to help win the Sunshine Coast Business Awards

Previous Sunshine Coast Business Awards winners are often asked what the secret is to winning the prestigious awards?

The answer many of them say is planning and finding out all the tips and tricks at one of the free information sessions held by Awards Chair Jennifer Swaine and Judging Chair Bruce Williams.

Mrs Swaine said while the applications process for the Awards was something that took a little time, previous entrants had said the process was a great opportunity to step back from day-to-day operations and critically examine their own business.

“We pride ourselves on the quality of the Awards applications process – it’s not a popularity contest, but instead entrants are judged according to a criteria, by business experts, with finalists also participating in interviews,” Mrs Swaine said.

Katie Noonan 2

NOOSA alive! 2021 takes to Main Beach for Seaside Vibes

NOOSA alive! an annual performing arts festival will once again take to Noosa main beach with 4 days of entertainment, within the broader 10-day festival from the 15th to 24th of July.

Katie Noonan

Katie Noonan

NOOSAalive! president Andrew Stafford said the all-new Seaside Beach Vibes on Main Beach event, from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th July, would include a variety of performances and entertainment from Opera under the stars to literary events and performances from some of the local singers and bands, all under the clear-roof Evie Networks Marquee, surrounded by the picturesque scenery of Main Beach.

Mr Stafford said across the four days of Seaside Beach Vibes, there was something for everyone.

“Whether you like classical music or soulful singers or something to get up and dance to, Seaside Beach Vibes has got it all.

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Whales here and ready to watch us humans!

The Humpback Whales are back, and the 2021 Whale Watching Season on the Sunshine Coast is set to start this weekend, presenting a special opportunity for locals and Queenslanders.

Sunreef Mooloolaba’s Dan Hart said this year’s whale watching season was set to be another fantastic one, with 35,000 humpback whales expected to travel north, and then back south through Sunshine Coast waters this winter.

Dan said the number of whales migrating north up Australia’s east coast was continuing to increase by about 10% a year, according to whale researchers.

“If last year’s season is anything to go by, we will see whales from now through until the end of the season in early November, and we expect we can expect more than 25,000 people on our whale watching and swim with whales experiences.

Buderim Foundation 2020 Grant recipents

Grants of up to $10,000 available to local community organisations thanks to Buderim Foundation

Buderim Foundation will soon be opening their 2021 Grants Programs for applications, with up to $10,000 each available to community organisations serving the local 4556 community.

Buderim Foundation
2020 Grant recipients celebrate, with COVID safe social distancing. Photo by Ross Eason

Applications open on Monday 7th June, and eligible applicants will need to apply online before 11thJuly. Successful applicants will be announced at the Foundation’s 2021 annual community grants celebration on Sunday 12th September.

This year grants can be used for projects, or organisational operational costs, that directly benefit residents within the 4556 postcode area.

The Buderim Foundations Grant application program attracted a lot of interest last year, and $85,022 in grants was awarded to 20 local organisations, taking the total amount distributed over 13 years to almost $629,000.

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Sunshine Coast Business Awards 2021 entries officially open at Small Business Month Breakfast

Entries for the 2021 Sunshine Coast Business Awards, powered by LPE, will open today after the official launch at the Sunshine Coast Small Business Month Breakfast.

Breakfast panelists and 2019 Sunshine Coast Business Award winners Peter Peter Kuruvita, Brigid Woolnough and Vicci Oliver – photo by Barry Alsop, Eyes Wide Open Images

More than 250 people will attend the sold-out celebration of Coast businesses “Bounce Back Better”, following one of the most challenging business years in living memory.

The Breakfast will see Sunshine Coast business people come together and give them the opportunity to hear from 2019 Award winners, Australian chef, restaurateur & media personality Peter Kuruvita from Noosa Beach House, Vicci Oliver from Wildlings Forest School, and Brigid Woolnough from Kokopod, about how to set themselves up for success with their applications for this year’s Awards and how they navigated COVID to “Bounce Back Better”.

Sunshine Coast Business Awards chair Jennifer Swaine said the Small Business Month Breakfast, sponsored by Sunshine Coast Council, Regional Development Australia, Maroochy RSL and the Queensland Department of Employment, Small Business and Training, was the perfect event to officially launch the 2021 Awards, with the national theme for the month, “Bounce Back Better” being particularly relevant as Sunshine Coast businesses have worked hard to not only survive, but thrive, the effects of COVID-19.

Sunshine Mitre 10 - Aura

Sunshine Mitre 10 to call new Aura Business Park Trade & Construction Precinct home

Sunshine Mitre 10 – Aura

Sunshine Mitre 10 will be the first to call the new Trade and Construction precinct at

Stockland’s Aura Business Park home, having signed a contract for three coveted commercial blocks of land.

The sale marks the launch of the new precinct within the thriving Stockland Aura Business Park.

This new purpose-designed Trade and Construction Precinct, ideally positioned alongside the Bells Creek Arterial Road which will shortly be directly connected to the Bruce Highway, will house key brands in the construction and trade industry to create a one-stop destination for all tradespeople and residents’ construction supply needs.

Sunshine Mitre 10 General Manager, Neil Hutchins said Aura Business Park’s new construction precinct provided a unique opportunity for the business to open the 20th in the Sunshine Mitre 10 network, which is this year celebrating 110 years in operation.

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Small Business Month Breakfast to celebrate resilience

The Sunshine Coast business community will gather to celebrate Small Business Month will a special breakfast celebrating resilience and focusing on how to

The Sunshine Coast Small Business Month Breakfast in 2019 – photo by Eyes Wide Open Images

Bounce Back Better.

The annual event on Thursday 20th May 2021, hosted by the Sunshine Coast Chamber Alliance, is the perfect forum to join fellow small business professionals in sharing stories of success, strategies for growth and to reflect on learnings from the past 12 months of business resilience.

Buderim Foundation chair Dr Russell Stitz with Nola and Roy Thompson - photo by Ross Eason -024 2

$5 million Thompson Trust entrusted to the Buderim Foundation

The Buderim Foundation, together with philanthropists Roy and Nola Thompson, are pleased to announce that the Buderim Foundation has become the Trustee for the Roy and Nola Thompson Charitable Trust, which will support people in need throughout the Sunshine Coast region.

The Buderim Foundation Thompson Fund will provide grants to support those experiencing financial distress in the Sunshine Coast community.  Organisations and groups that provide services for those unable to achieve a modest standard of living, due to challenges of homelessness or domestic violence, are invited to assess their eligibility for the 2021 grants program from 1st May 2021.

Buderim Foundation Chair Dr Russell Stitz said the Buderim Foundation already has a community investment fund of more than $2 million which is used to support the people who live in the 4556 postcode area.  Grants are also provided to not-for-profit organisations outside this postcode area, provided there is a benefit to those who live in this local community.  Since its inception in 2004, grants to the value of almost $637,000 have been distributed to 83 local community groups.

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