BICYCLE SAFETY
A NEW road safety bike track has been given the green light thanks to funding received from Queensland Country Credit Union’s Good for Good Community Grants.
Townsville Central Primary School will install the $ 20,000 road simulation facility, aimed at helping children learn how to be safe when cycling in the community.
Community groups across Queensland were invited to apply for a share of $ 100,000 to fund a particular project, with successful applicants ranging from an emergency helicopter landing pad for an isolated town, to essential first aid equipment for a triathlon club.
Vice president of Townsville Central’s P& C Association Rhett Stubbs said the school community was excited their dream of a safe cycling program was finally able to be achieved. “We have previously raised the money to purchase 30 bikes and safety equipment, and now we can go ahead and create the road safety simulation,” he said.
“This involves the installation of sports coating of road track onto an existing basketball court, along with road safety signs.
“Once complete the facilities will be made available to other primary schools and community groups, so even more children can be encouraged to get active, learn the skill of riding a bike, and know how to be safe when cycling on public footpaths and roadways.
“Our goal is to see more children riding their bikes to and from school, so they can be engaged in physical activity while reducing the volume of cars in the area.”
An element of Queensland Country Credit Union’s Good for Good Community Grants involves the concept of paying it forward, with grant recipients expected to fundraise 10 per cent of their grant amount for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Fundraising will be boosted with an additional $ 20,000 contribution from Queensland Country.
Queensland Country CEO Aileen Cull said her team was proud to give back to the community in a tangible way.
“We received 64 applications from not- forprofit groups around the state, who were seeking funding of between $ 5000 and $ 30,000 to get their important projects off the ground,” she said.
“It was really heartwarming to see how much good is being done at a grassroots level in our communities.
“Choosing the grant recipients was a difficult challenge for our judging committee,“she said.
“But ultimately the winners were chosen based on the genuine benefits their projects would bring to the community, as well as their ability to pay it forward, or do ‘ good for good’ by fundraising for our charity partner.”
This is the first year that Queensland Country has run the Good for Good program, and follows a long history of supporting local initiatives.
“We have injected $ 2 million into community projects since 2005,” Ms Cull said.
“It’s all part of our difference as a customer owned banking organisation.
“Without shareholders to pay dividends to, we can invest our profits into local communities while providing the best possible products and services to our members.”