From breakfasts at Benowa to tennis at Terranora, community groups from across the Gold Coast and northern NSW have secured funding from the airport’s Community Benefit Fund.

A total of 30 community groups will this year receive about$1000 each towards a specific initiative, in areas including health and wellbeing,community safety, education, environment and sustainability, arts and culture and indigenous projects.

The groups were selected after a record number of submissions were received for this year’s annual Community Benefit Fund, run by Gold Coast Airport’s parent company Queensland Airports Limited (QAL).

Gold Coast Airport Chief Operating Officer Marion Charlton said it was a privilege for the company to support such worthy grassroots initiatives.

“The fund is an important vehicle for us to support our local community,” she said.

“This year we received a record number of applications, with an impressive array of initiatives put forward. We look forward to working with our grant recipients and seeing their projects come to life.”

One of the successful organisations is the Story Dogs, a local charity which helps children learn to read through the use of calm, gentle dogs.

Story Dogs co-founder and managing director Janine Sigley said the group, established in Murwillumbah 10 years ago, was not government funded and relied on funding from businesses and the community.

“Financial support covers all the necessary expenses to put dog teams into schools, year after year,” she said.

“This year we reached a milestone, with 500 dog teams working across the country, helping 2500 kids each week learn to read. There ishuge demand from schools and we are always after more dog teams, so this funding is important for us.”

The funding will go to the team which supports Year 2 children at Mudgeeraba State Primary School, where Sue Stock and her seven-year-old Labrador, Zoe, visit each week under the program.

Since the Community Benefit Fund started in 2016, QAL has supported more than 200 organisations across the Gold Coast, northern NSW, Townsville, Longreach and Mount Isa.

A new streamlined application process resulted in a record number of submissions in 2019, increasing the impact and reach of the fund.

The fund, together with the QAL corporate sponsorship program, supports more than 80 local community, business,environmental and tourism initiatives and events across Queensland and NSW each year.

The fund will reopen in early 2020 through the Gold Coast Airport and QAL websites.

Full list of 2019 Community Benefit Fund recipients:

- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare Resource and Housing

- Australian Air Force Cadets 213 Squadron Elanora

- Australian Air League Coolangatta Tweed Squadron

- Australian Anti Ice Campaign

- Benowa State High School Chaplaincy

- Birdwings Nature

- Broadbeach Waters Kindergarten

- Centaur Public School

- Connecting Southern Gold Coast

- Coomera Soccer Club

- Currumbin Community Special School

- Friends Of The Pound

- Girl Guides QLD - Tugun District

- Gold Coast TPI Centre

- Kingscliff Mini School Community Preschool

- Kingscliff Tennis Club

- Labrador Kindergarten

- Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School

- Mudgeeraba State Special School

- Murwillumbah Festival of Performing Arts

- Palm Beach-Currumbin  State High School

- Palm Beach 7  Neighbourhood Watch

- Southern Beaches  Community Garden

- Story Dogs

- Tennis Terranora

- Toastmasters – SCU Gold Coast

- Tweed Dragons

- Twin Rivers

- Volunteering in  Queensland Police (Coomera station)

- Youth Music Venture