About Community Chest grants
Community Chest is an IGA grants program that gives back to the tapestry of community groups that contribute to the Hastings way of life.
The grants are all about celebrating the great work of local, non for profit community groups and helping fund equipment, infrastructure and projects that will leave a lasting legacy for our community.
Customers at our four IGA supermarket play a pivotal role in the program's success, with funds from specially-marked products pooled to provide the grants. Every time you purchase one of these specially-marked products you can feel good about giving back to the community too.
2024/25 grant recipients
Twelve local community groups benefitted from the latest round of Community Chest grants thanks to Co-op IGA customers, including:
- Wauchope Veterans Womens Golf Club
- Wauchope High School
- Comboyne Public School P & C
- Wauchope Public School P & C
- St Joseph's Primary School Wauchope P & F
- Wauchope Lions Club
- Wauchope Rotary Club
- Port Macquarie Pink Ladies
- Wauchope Hospital Volunteers
- Wauchope Westpac Rescue Helicopter
- Wauchope Country Women’s Association
- Wauchope Bowling Club.
These groups come from all over the Hastings, but the thing they have in common is a passion for improving the local way of life, not just for their members, but the whole community. In these challenging economic times, many groups rely on membership fees and fundraisers, so we hope the grants will provide a significant boost.
2023/24 grant recipients
Ten local community groups ticked vital equipment off their 2024 wish list thanks to a $15,500 funding injection from Community Chest grants.
The grants will fund projects such as: school sports equipment; firefighting tools; dust extractors; laptops and printers; an outdoor kitchen at Comboyne Museum; a new community radio studio and; defibrillators for Port Macquarie Arts and Crafts Centre and Wauchope Stadium. Recipients included:
1. Hastings 2WAY FM: New community radio studio and office upgrade
2. Kendall Mens Shed: Dust Extractor
3. Hastings Valley Motorcycle Club - Laptop computer and printer
4. St Joseph's Primary School Wauchope: School sports equipment
5. Learn from Horses: Chairs and tables for students, visitors and the elderly
6. Wauchope Netball Club - Defibrillator for Wauchope Stadium
7. Comboyne Community Association: Outdoor kitchen at Comboyne Museum
8. King Creek Rural Fire Brigade: Firefighting tools
9. Port Macquarie National Seniors of Australia: Laptop computer and printer
10. Port Macquarie Arts & Crafts Centre: Defibrillator for Centre