Healthy partnership benefits business and community!
17 September 2008
Private Health Insurer GMHBA has funded a full-time, business development position within BacLinks, to help the program build more valuable partnerships between Geelong businesses and community groups.
A division of major disability organisation Karingal, BacLinks provides a unique service in Geelong; connecting local businesses with the community. These connections result in businesses offering staff time, expertise or goods and services to community groups and projects which require volunteers or a helping hand. More than 30 projects – involving 57 community groups and 51 businesses – have been co-ordinated through BacLinks over the past 12 months alone.
BacLinks Manager, Sheree Holdsworth, said the new, GMHBA-funded position would allow the program to employ a business partnerships officer for 12 months. Chris McEwin has been stepped up to the challenge.
“Chris will be responsible for encouraging good corporate citizenship in Geelong, as well as boosting the BacLinks membership base. Although only a member for four months, GMHBA had already proven itself to be an invaluable business partner”, Ms Holdsworth said.
“In addition to bankrolling the new business partnerships position, GMHBA got behind a children’s brain injury awareness campaign co-ordinated in early September. This meant that 60 skate helmets were given away at the regional launch of Brain Injury Awareness Week, at the Bellarine Skate Park in Ocean Grove on September 7, and at regional primary and secondary schools”.
Co-ordinated by Karingal’s acquired brain injury support division, ARCSupport, the give-away was designed to encourage children to wear helmets when skating, scooting and rollerblading, as well as when cycling.
The campaign was aimed at increasing awareness of the risk of brain injury while skating without a helmet, and decreasing the incidence of serious, long-term brain injury in children through the promotion of safety gear.
“All helmets given away at the launch featured the GMHBA logo on the back or side, to show the health fund’s support for the initiative”, Ms Holdsworth said.