During August at Magpies Waitara, Lindfield & Districts Community Bank held their annual Community Pitch. 

Ten worthy community groups gave their passionate presentations, asking local businesses and individuals for vital funding.

Since commencing in 2019, the Community Pitch has grown beyond the expectations of the Lindfield & Districts Community Bank. For 2024, $74,450 in funding was raised and donated to the ten community groups. Lindfield & Districts contributed $30,000 in support.

The Post were proud to attend the Community Pitch, and give donations to Mary’s House Services, the Cottage Counselling Centre, and Denise at Paws.

Mary’s House Services gave their pitch. Founded to address the gap in government-funded services for survivors of domestic and family violence in Sydney’s northern suburbs, Mary’s House were looking to enhance their mentoring program to aid women in their various stages of escaping abusive relationships.

The Cottage Counselling Centre offers counselling to people on Sydney’s North Shore and Northern Beaches. Their services are subsidised to make them accessible and affordable for the community who need them, and their pitch involved raising funds to allow for subsidised counselling.

Denise at Paws is a rescue centre, saving dogs from unnecessary euthanasia, animal cruelty, and breeding. For their pitch, they requested funds to provide medical care for their rescue dogs, including veterinary care, specialist treatments, grooming and supples, and behavioural support.

Dom’s Place is a community centre that aims to bring people together and offers a range of services to inspire connection and a sense of belonging. As Dom’s Place operates solely on funding, their pitch asked the community to help continue their work.

St Edmund’s College Wahroonga, specialising in education for students with intellectual disabilities, presented their new VET Retail program as their pitch. With the funds raised, St Edmund’s hopes to purchase a timer market stand to be used at local events, and a glass cabinet for students to manage and display stock.

The Dish of St John’s pitched to expand their Community Connections program. Hoping to run one social event every term, The Dish needed funding for transport services, food, and day passes for particular sites they wish to attend. The program aims to deepen relationships and connections of those that access the services The Dish provides.

Kintsugi Heroes brigs the unique stories of individuals to the public eye. Covering a range of topics including depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, dysfunctional familial structures, relationship breakdown and financial hardship, Kintsugi Heroes uses storytelling through audio and video podcast, and e-book and printed books to illuminate the beauty of adversity and overcoming challenges. Their pitch was for funding to identify, research and record more hero stories.

Ku-ring-gai Bush Fire Brigade is dedicated to safeguarding lives and property from fire and flood emergencies. Their fundraising pitch was for establishing a laundry area at their station, purchasing a large washing machine and dryer to handle the entire firefighting crew’s uniforms.

Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Parkinson’s Association offer programs to support people living with Parkinson’s disease. Programs include weekly exercise classes, weekly choir sessions, and weekly waking groups. Fundraising at the pitch, the Association were seeking financial support to expand their library of books and DVDS about Parkinson’s, to produce an exercise video for members, and to purchase equipment to enable their choir to perform concerts.

Streetwork is for young individuals aged 12-25 who are seeking to turn their lives around. Affected by homelessness, poor mental health, social isolation, substance abuse, and crime, young people come to Streetwork for local youth support services. For their pitch, Streetwork were seeking funds to support their assertive outreach program, targeting youth at risk of school disengagement and juvenile criminal behaviour.

Congratulations to the ten groups who received funding.