One of the best times of our year is catching up with our grant recipients to see how they’re getting on with their projects and to meet the people behind the scenes.  This week, we headed to Corowa with Adroit Insurance and Risk representatives Michael Myers and Tricia Eyers to meet with Julianne Whyte and David Harrison from the Amaranth Foundation.

Through their Named Sub Fund, Adroit distributed a $5000 grant to Amaranth in May 2020 to support a program entitled Walking Strong Men’s Program which was developed in response to an identified need in the local community to support men’s mental health and wellbeing. The group-based program offers interactive weekly sessions with men from a diverse range of ages, career paths and stages of relationships.

The impact of this program cannot be under-estimated and it has now grown to take on a new life as Friday Nights at the Station – a meeting place on a Friday evening for men to come and quietly connect with others who may be experiencing social isolation, family and work pressures or those who simply want to feel a part of their community.

The good that can come from giving people a feeling of place, to have something to look forward to and an open opportunity for them to reach out to others within their community, cannot be underestimated.

For a small grant, this program is making a big difference.  We know how much it meant to Amaranth to have funds available to get the project off the ground and the value of male mentors and something consistent for people to look forward to.  Whether 3 or 13 men attend at any time is somewhat irrelevant – it’s about the conversations and connections that are developing that is important.

Thank you, Adroit Insurance & Risk for your leadership and commitment to our local community.  And thank you Amaranth Foundation for taking the time to show us just how much can be achieved.