Fund set up to support charities hit by cash cuts

A CHARITABLE fund to buttress Greater Dandenong’s stretched benevolent societies and volunteers will be set up in 2015-16.
The fund, announced in the council’s draft budget, will be designed to “encourage community and business contributions to enhance the health and wellbeing of residents”, community services director Mark Doubleday said.
Springvale Benevolent Society president Joe Rechichi said Greater Dandenong charities, which had recently suffered a federal funding loss of “hundreds of thousands of dollars”, needed all the help they could get.
His own charity – which has run for 53 years – was bereft after losing all of its $70,000 federal funding.
Mr Doubleday said the charitable fund was still in a preliminary stage of development, with more details available when they were finalised.