News

November 12, 2019 | IN Media Release and News | BY AVID | 3 min read

AVID Property Group (AVID), the developer behind Palmview’s largest masterplanned community, Harmony, is backing local community groups and businesses through its 2019/2020 Community Sponsorship and Grants Program – with successful recipients announced this week.

This year, Harmony received more than 20 worthy applications for its Connect and Activate community grants – each designed to foster local community groups and create lasting connections within the vibrant Harmony community.

AVID General Manager Queensland Bruce Harper said sponsorships played an important role in shaping a community.

“We were overwhelmed by the high calibre of applications we received this year, all offering a wide variety of community initiatives and activities – ranging from the arts, to sport and even STEM learning, all designed to help our community grow,” Mr Harper said.

“We are excited to be able to award six grants to some amazing local businesses and groups in and around our growing Harmony community.

“Our Connect grants help to create lasting partnerships in and around the wider Harmony community, while our Activate grants help support local initiatives at a grassroots level within Harmony.”

One of Harmony’s Activate grant recipients is Sunshine Sign and Sing – a baby and toddler sign language group run by Harmony mums Elaine Stigwood and Zoe Twose.

The group aims to assist and enhance communication with children and their carers through sign language by using songs and stories.

“Sign classes like this are really popular in the United Kingdom, while I was living there I attended classes with my eight-year-old son when he was a baby – he was able to use signing as a way to tell me when he was hungry or thirsty or if he had pain before he could even talk,” Ms Stigwood said.

“When I had my second baby, I noticed these types of classes were not really offered on the Sunshine Coast or even in Brisbane.

“I first met Zoe through our Mums group and she too was also looking for a baby signing group and couldn’t find anything either, so we decided to just start our own.”

Elaine and Zoe said that as a new parent it can be quite lonely and they wanted to create a group where parents could come together, share their experiences and feel supported.

“Aside from the benefits for the children and their communication, we really want Sunshine Sign and Sing to be another place where parents can come and meet each other,” Ms Stigwood said.

“The grant from Harmony will help give us access to resources we might not have been able to afford otherwise.

“Even simple things like having a deep foam mat for the children to sit on will make a huge difference.

“Having the support and help from Harmony and Susana Waldron – Harmony’s Community Development Officer, has meant a lot to us, it has been really encouraging.”

Harmony’s 2019 Community Sponsorship and Grants Program recipients:

Activate grant recipients:

• project Fort Awesome – cubby house workshops
• Sunshine Coast Cricket Association (SCCA) – new come and try kits
• Sunshine Sign and Sing – Sign and Sing workshops for toddlers

Connect grant recipients:

• Chancellor State College Chaplaincy Program – building a dedicated space for its Chaplaincy services
• Maroochydore State Emergency Service (SES) – Hydraulic ladder loaders

University of the Sunshine Coast – series of free Music @ USC Harmony Concerts

> Read more about Harmony community