Two large charities with roots in Newcastle have teamed up for the first time to provide the Upper Hunter with $100,000 in drought funding.
The chairs of nib foundation and Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation announced two years-worth of funding for Upper Hunter Community Services, based in Muswellbrook, on Wednesday.
"nib came up with the initiative," Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation chairman Phil Neat said. "There's a kinship there, we've shared directors in the past and we respect each other's work."
"We realised it would be much better to have a partner in this," Judi Geggie, the chairman of nib foundation said. "We know that for communities it's going to take years getting over the drought. Giving one year of funding was not enough."
General manager of Upper Hunter Community Services Sue Milton said half of the funding would go directly to families in need.
"Helping with water, helping with feed, paying registrations for vehicles. There's no limit to what we can do if we think it's absolutely necessary," Ms Milton said. "Because we have staff on the ground that go out to these areas, we pick up on people who need help who might not have otherwise been identified."
The remaining funding will go towards the service's programs for drought-affected families, including counselling, outreach services and social events.
"We're planning a big think tank morning to identify what has worked best and what areas we need to cover," Ms Milton said.
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