Harden District Education Foundation Celebrates 21 Years

Harden District Education Foundation will host a 21st birthday party on Saturday, April 1 from 6 pm to 11 pm.

Paralympic gold medalist, and owner of Quizzic Alley, Michael Milton will be the guest speaker at the event will which includes a three-course meal and drinks on arrival and live entertainment included with the ticket.

Live entertainment includes a band and magician extraordinaire, Liam Power providing some magical moments throughout the night.

The event, celebrating the Magic of Education will take place at the Harden Racecourse Pavillion.

Publicity Officer for Harden District Education Foundation, Georgie Loiterton said they had anticipated celebrating their 20th, but they had to make the best of the Covid situation. “We had a discussion about it and decided that a 21st was a special birthday, too,” Ms Loiterton said.

“Over our 20-plus years, we have given over $1 million back into the community to support the youth. That ranges from preschool right through to university. It’s really nice knowing we’ve been able to support vulnerable children, children in a preschool setting and young people in their 20s embarking on uni for the first time.”

Ms Loiterton said the Harden District Education Foundation was extremely successful. “We are known as one of the most successful CEFs in NSW,” she said.

“We’ve been extremely lucky to have community members on our committee for 20 years. Having that continuity in our community members means it has been able to really build and become really strong.”

The group’s members include people from a wide range of backgrounds, such as lawyers, nurses, doctors, and teachers, to name a few.

Obviously, the financial support is imperative, but past grant recipients have said that the other ongoing support has been greatly appreciated.

Ms Loiterton said that the foundation tried to support with emotional and mental support as well as practicalities like organising public transport and preparing CVs.

“The support doesn’t end once we hand them their grant,” she said. “We follow our kids through.”

Harden Country Education Foundation is just one of over 40 local CEFs across the country assisting school leavers access further education and training and investing in the future of their rural and regional communities.

Both Boorowa and Young also have local CEFs run by community volunteers working to support their young people’s aspirations.

The CEFs fundraise throughout the year in order to provide financial grants to those students who need an extra helping hand. Local foundations reimburse students for pre-arranged expenses or pay the goods and services providers directly. They do not provide cash grants directly to recipients.

These grants receive no government funding at all.

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