Growers support WA charities with over $1.1 million in HMMS donations

8/6/2018

The CBH Group has continued our strong support of Western Australian charities as total donations from voluntarily forfeited grain from the state’s growers reach more than $1.1 million.

Developed in conjunction with Main Roads WA, the Harvest Mass Management Scheme (HMMS) seeks to reduce the frequency of overloaded grain trucks arriving at CBH receival sites.

During harvest, growers can forfeit grain from overloaded trucks, which is then sold and funds provided to WA charities.

During the 2017/18 harvest, the HMMS generated $148,000 from 496 tonnes of grain that was surrendered. Since the scheme started in 2012, a total of $1,123,500 has been donated to charities active in regional WA.

This year, the HMMS will support the Kids Cancer Support Group, Country Women’s Association of WA, RedKite, Ronald McDonald House, St John Ambulance and Camp Kulin. The charities are nominated by growers and the co-operative’s employees.

CBH Chairman Wally Newman presented cheques of up to $25,000 to each of the charities at an event this morning.

Mr Newman said it was gratifying to see a program that can generate much needed funds for charities while acting as a deterrent to overloading trucks.

“Never in the history of West Australian road transport has there been such an effective and practical deterrent to overloading, so much so that no one intentionally overloads delivery to CBH,” Mr Newman said.

“The HMMS is unlike any other initiative. On one hand it seeks to reduce the amount of overloaded trucks during harvest which has long-term infrastructure benefits. On the other hand, it’s a very effective reason not to overload.

“CBH is committed to safer roads and supporting rural communities, and through HMMS, growers are extending their support for charities that play a key role in their backyard.”

The six charities receiving a donation from the HMMS are focused on ensuring the health of rural communities including supporting sick children and their families that need to come to Perth for treatment, and supporting individuals and families experiencing financial hardship.

Details of the six charities receiving funding are below:

Kids Cancer Support Group - $25,000 - KCSG support families whilst staying at Ward 1A at Perth Children’s Hospital. Funds will be used to specifically support families from grain growing communities both financially and through programs such as the weekly toy delivery.
St John Ambulance - $23,000 - Funds to go towards the inclusion of Automated External Defibrillators in grain growing regions
Camp Kulin - $25,000 - The donation will go to help bring over 70 children from crop growing regions into Camp Kulin for the school holiday camp programs.
RedKite - $25,000 - RedKite provides support to children and young people aged up to 24 years with cancer, and the family and support network who care for them. This donation will help five families with support for 12 months.
Ronald McDonald House - $25,000 - The donation will go towards The Work of Heart program – a curriculum aligned session that supports sick children and their siblings living in the Ronald McDonald House with their homework and education.
Country Women’s Association WA - $25,000 - The funds will go towards the Sir James Mitchell Education and Welfare Fund Drought Relief, which supports individuals and families experiencing financial hardship, in particular with education.