ANOTHER 15 charity groups were added this week to the list of those receiving major handouts as the result of the winding up of two community funds set up by former mayor Paul Pisasale more than a decade ago.
The former mayor established two emergency funds to provide immediate assistance to families who had been devastated by such things as a house fire or flood.
He raised awareness of the funds during emergencies and received strong support with the funds attracting more than $300,000.
The first fund, the Ipswich Community Charity Fund was closed earlier this year with $37,700 flowing to the Salvation Army, iNCommunity, Ipswich Hospice, Ipswich Hospital Foundation and Ipswich Domestic Violence Action Centre.
The second fund, the City of Ipswich Community Fund Ltd, was closed in the last few weeks and representatives of 15 local charities were each handed cheques for $6290.
In all the two funds have boosted the coffers of hard-working local charities by $282,850.
Focal Community Services, Riddhi Devia, on behalf of the charities said the unexpected cheque was greatly appreciated at a time when it was becoming harder and harder to get support.
Over the past 12 months Cr Paul Tully faced media pressure which intimated he was in some way stalling the disbursement of the funds and that there may have been a hidden agenda.
The fact was he was the last man standing when committee members of the funds resigned in the wake of Pisasale getting charged and sent to prison on other matters.
“Comprehensive audits done on both funds reveal that not a cent was inappropriately used,” Cr Tully said.
“The media attack was scandalous, and it had a major personal impact on both me and my family,” he said.
“It was an extremely difficult legal process to wind up both these funds, it was never the case of just going to the bank and saying give us the money and we’ll hand it out to charities.
“Despite the press attacks the great news from all of this is that 20 local charities now have extra funds at a time when many families are hurting.
“Paul Pisasale did a wonderful job in getting people to back the funds which helped hundreds of residents over the past decade and will help more in the future.”
The former mayor attended the cheque presentation function thanking the charities for the great work they did in the community.
The 15 new charities that received the final handouts last week were:
- Footprints in the Park
- Ipswich Show Society (Emergency Care Packs – Recovery Centre)
- Redbank Plains Community Centre
- YMCA – Springfield Central
- Ipswich Koala Protection Society Inc.
- Westside Community Care (Camira/Springfield)
- Rosies Ipswich
- SEQIC (South East Queensland Indigenous Corporation)
- Wounded Heroes
- Our House Our Haven
- ALARA (Disability Services)
- Focal
- Goodna Youth Services (Riverview)
- Kummara Association – Ipswich and South West Family Wellbeing Service
- West Moreton Migrant Resource Service Inc.
