At the recent 2024 CGRC Business Awards Night on October 18, the Cootamundra CEF was delighted to be awarded a Highly Commended award for Outstanding Community Organisation; especially as the field consisted of fourteen nominated organisations, all of which are very deserving of recognition.
One of their students, Harry Tiernan, recently received the Launching Star Award at the national level, and they are very proud of this achievement.
President, Bill Godman, said “The Cootamundra Education Foundation supports young people from the ages of 18 to 25 to pursue their careers, their dreams and their aspirations to do further study. It could be any particular level, University, TAFE or an apprenticeship. It could be to support young people to go into business for themselves.
“There are some criteria for it. The criteria consists of financial need; students must have done the majority of their schooling at Cootamundra or within the Cootamundra LGA, that doesn’t include Gundagai, it’s just Cootamundra, and includes Wallendbeen, Stockinbingal; students must be between the ages of 18 and 25.
“All the funds that are raised are going through sponsorships or fundraising efforts. We receive no Government assistance whatsoever, but we rely on the generosity of local benefactors.
“I have just heard that the Youth Council of Cootamundra are having a fundraising event at Christmas celebrations coming up in Cootamundra in a fortnight. The funds that they raise, they are going to give to our organisation, which I think is just amazing. We rely on very generous benefactors in many cases to support our students. We are lucky to have supported a student who has undertaken studies in medicine.
They are the beneficiaries of a very substantial grant through a local benefactor. We also support another student who is doing dentistry.”
Bill said they also support students who are doing teaching, nursing and apprenticeships.
“Our students are also in agricultural science and paramedics. We are here to give our students financial support so they don’t have to stress about getting a job, doing studies or travelling and finding the money. It just takes that little bit of pressure off students so their journey is a little less difficult. We know students from country areas find it a lot harder to navigate future pathways than their city counterparts.
“The Country Education Fund was set up and founded in Boorowa. It takes the pain out of having to have a second job. I cite the case of the young lady that we are supporting who is now doing medicine. She didn’t get into medicine directly, she had to go via another pathway which we assisted her with and then has been successful in getting into the medical stream now, which we think is fantastic, but for her, a second job was essential so that she could have the funds to study. Having that CEF funding has taken that pressure off so she can concentrate on her studies and her grades, which are fantastic.
“The other thing that we do offer is just support. Sometimes it’s a great feeling for students to know that the whole community has got their back, because we don’t just hand out the money and that is it. We are in constant contact with the students we support. They have to submit a report on their progress for whatever they are doing twice a year and as a committee, we review those.
“We offer that personal support if students are struggling or find navigating their chosen path difficult we are there as an ear to listen to them and the CEF as a whole has lots and lots of resources to support young people.
“At the moment students are applying for grants for the next funding round. Students that are successful will be notified in early December.
“The process is they apply online to our organisation and then students who are eligible are invited to an interview and once the interview is completed our committee and panel will then make the recommendation for students that we are going to support.
“Students are required to show a demonstrated commitment to their goal – a path that they have planned out and that they have made progress or attempts to involve themselves in the direction in which they wish to take.
“We are always looking for more members of the community to join our committee. If people want to join they can contact our Secretary Rebecca Bragg.”
-Jack Murray