Domestic violence victims, people with disabilities and a group organising a multicultural cake festival are just some who will benefit from City of Canterbury Bankstown’s community grants program.

Others to receive grants include a parent support group for kids with hearing loss, a female football mentoring program, girl’s jujitsu squad, youth festival and support for refugee and asylum seeker students.

Council handed out $521,368 to 98 different local community organisations in a special ceremony held at the Bryan Brown Theatre last Wednesday.

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek said he is proud to support so many local organisations and is heartened by the work they do in the community.

“Local organisations are the heart and soul of our community and these grants are all about helping them help others,” Mayor El-Hayek said.

“Some really great initiatives and I look forward to seeing them come to life.”

Among the successful applicants was the Recreation Sports and Aquatics Club at Bankstown, which has been supporting people with disabilities in the area for more than 35 years.

Mr Cameron Gregory, who coordinates various programs across the City, said the grant will be used to run life-changing soccer and basketball sessions for people with disabilities.

“Doing an activity like this once a week with the same group of people gives our participants an opportunity to get out, be active and socialise,” Mr Gregory said.

“It’s impossible to measure the difference in somebody from when they start the activity, to then making friends and developing relationships.

“To see somebody who is non-verbal and then some weeks later see them reacting and conversing, makes me quite emotional.

“Without these grants, we wouldn’t be able to run the activities. It’s an integral part of helping us continue offering activities to participants which are life-changing for them.”

Another organisation to receive funding was the Zonta Club of Sydney West, with long-serving volunteer Ms Lorna Parker saying the grant will provide much-needed home packages and food vouchers to women in need.

“We’ll be providing essential items like toasters, mugs and toiletries so women in local shelters can start up a home from scratch,” Ms Parker said.

“This grant will really help us get the ball rolling in supporting women who have faced gender-based violence to start over again.”

The Community Grants and Events Sponsorship Program 2023/24 provides financial support to assist community-based organisations to develop initiatives that enhance community wellbeing.

For more information and to see a full list of the successful applicants, visit cb.city/CommunityGrants