With the pandemic cancelling any and all fundraisers the Country Education Foundation of the Namoi (CEFN) had planned over the last two years, the organisation is relying heavily on donations.

Community groups like the Rotary Club of Narrabri have come to CEFN’s aid, giving generously.

In October, Rotarians donated a massive $5000 to the organisation, which will go towards helping the future generation reach their education goals.

The local committee hopes to have the funding doubled by the national CEF body, through a money-matching initiative the chief organisation is currently running.

It will then be allocated to students from Wee Waa and Narrabri, to help them cover the costs of further education.

Chair of CEFN, Trudy Staines, says young students have a variety of options when choosing their career path, which is why the committee offers assistance to those pursuing TAFE, university, an apprenticeship or traineeship, and any other tertiary qualification.

“For university students, the grants often go towards accommodation, textbooks or other fees,” she said.

“Meanwhile apprentices might need the funding for fuel or new tools.

“CEFN is there to assist you in paying for anything that helps further your education.”

Ms Staines says the committee wouldn’t be able to offer these opportunities without Rotary’s charitable support.

“This donation really does mean the world to us,” she said.

“Rotary has been a wonderful partner to CEFN and their support is so welcomed.

“We haven’t been able to fundraise as much as we would’ve liked, due to COVID, and we’re getting more and more student applicants every year.

“We really would be lost without the help of local sponsors like Rotary.”

Rotary president, Darrell Tiemens, mirrored back the gratitude.

“We’re just so in awe of everything CEFN does for the local community, so helping them out with this donation was a no-brainer really,” he said.

“Young people are the future, so supporting them as they follow their educational dreams is just such a worthy cause.

“The committee does a really fantastic job, and we want to assist them however possible.”

Mr Tiemens says the funding came from a battery recycling program Rotary has been running in recent years.

“We’ve had a variety of local people and businesses donate their old batteries to Rotary, and we funnel them into a recycling program that makes new batteries,” he said.

“And the profits from that have allowed us to make this recent donation to CEFN.

“So we want to thank everyone that’s donated over the last few years, and we encourage you to continue doing so – it really does make a huge difference.

“We really feel for CEFN, with COVID disrupting their plans this year, so we’re pleased to be able to offer this donation.”

But Rotary’s fundraising efforts for CEFN don’t stop there, with the groups co-planning a trivia night next year to raise money for the 2022 students.

Students looking for financial support should complete an application form online, which will be followed by an interview with the CEFN sub-branch committee.

Based on each applicant’s means and goals, the overall CEFN committee decides how the funding will be divided among the students.

Grants vary from $500, to $3000, per student. Applications closed at the end of October but, if you’re still interested in applying, Ms Staines urges you to get in touch with CEFN as soon as possible.

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