Students of any age who are taking up tertiary level studies in early 2025 can apply to the Mirboo North & District Community Foundation for an Education Support Award to assist with the financial costs. Applications are now open through our website and close on 20th November.
“The costs faced by local students seeking to further their studies through TAFE or University are significant. These include fees, materials, laptops, and also rent and accommodation bonds, for those moving away from home. Before you even go to the first lecture, you can be up for many thousands of dollars,” explained Diana Mueller, Director.
Apply now for Education Support in 2025
The Education Support Program was started by the Community Foundation back in 2013, to provide financial support to help ease access by local students to University, TAFE or other recognised post-secondary courses. Since then, more than $200,000 has been distributed to local students furthering their education.
The Community Bank, Mirboo North & District has long been a supporter of the Education Support Program and is strongly committed to supporting the education of local young people. The Community Foundation is thrilled to announce that they will again sponsor four local students for two years; a total contribution of $24,000.
“We want to ensure that the financial challenges facing local students don’t impede them from getting the education they deserve,” says Anne Mare Dieperink, Executive Officer of the Community Bank, Mirboo North & District. “We also recognise that the financial challenges of moving away to take up a place in University doesn’t end after the first year, which makes our sponsorship of a two year award, totalling $6,000 per student, doubly important.”
Community Support and Sponsorship for Local Students
Since 2018 the Community Foundation has been collaborating with Youthrive Victoria to include mentoring and leadership training within the Education Support Program. These programs are currently being over-hauled by Youthrive and we will continue discussions to see how we can bring some of these opportunities to local students in 2025. In the interim, there is a great opportunity for young people (up to 25) considering a course at TAFE: Youthrive has grants of $2,000 (for those staying local) or $5,000 (for those moving away) to study at TAFE. These grants would be in addition to an award from the Education Support Program.
Whether you are leaving school, have been earning money to fund your further studies or have decided to go back as a mature student, the Education Support Program is available to you. Have a look at the application form on our website now: https://mirboodistrictfoundation.org.au/apply-for-a-grant/education-support/