A local theatre group, a kindergarten and a sporting club are among the organisations to receive a welcome cash injection from the 2018 Mount Isa Airport Community Benefit Fund.

Four groups received grant funding – typically awarded at $1,000 per organisation – to assist their initiatives in the areas of health and wellbeing, safety, education, security, and environment.

A list of grant recipients is provided below:

• Island BMX Club Mount Isa

• Mount Isa Theatrical Society

• Mount Isa Community Ensemble

• Injilinji Community Kindergarten

Mount Isa Airport Chief Operating Officer Kevin Gill said the Community Benefit Fund had run for the past three years, allowing the airport to provide funding support to a significant number of local community groups at a grassroots level.

“Each year we are overwhelmed with the fantastic community initiatives underway in our region,” he said.

“We’re acutely aware of the uphill battle faced by many of these groups when it comes to funding, so we continue to run the Community Benefit Fund as a way of giving back to locals.

“Grants of $1000 go a very long way for these groups.”

Injilinji Community Kindergarten has used the grant funding to rejuvenate its outdoor play fort after years of sun damage.

Kindergarten spokesperson Courtney Spiller said they had purchased new timber for their fort structure, as well as slides and swings with their grant funding.

“The fort was sun damaged and splintering, making it unsafe for children to play on. It is the only climbing structure the kindy has, so having it in an unusable condition was unfortunate,” she said.

“Some of the kindy dads came in during the weekend and replaced the wood – now the kids love their play area.”

The Community Benefit Fund is run by Mount Isa Airport’s parent company, Queensland Airports Limited (QAL), which also operates Gold Coast, Townsville and Longreach airports.

The 2018 Community Benefit Fund contributed $50,000 to 43 organisations across the four ports – representing half of the 86 applications received.

QAL also supports local community, business, environmental and tourism events in each of its regions and across Queensland under its corporate sponsorship program.

The 2019 Community Benefit Fund will be launched in May this year. Organisations interested in applying should stay tuned to the airport’s website and Facebook page for further updates.