National courier, Australia Post, has announced the recipients of its 2022 Community Grants in support of mental health.
Grants of up to $10,000 each have been awarded to help fund initiatives across every state and territory, ranging from art therapy, peer support groups and cultural connection programs. Half the successful applicants are in rural and remote locations.
In total, Australia Post is investing more than $500,000 in community-led, local projects that connect individuals and promote improved mental health. It is the third consecutive year the Community Grants program has focussed on connection and mental wellbeing.
Australia Post Executive General Manager Community, Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement, Tanny Mangos, said the grants enabled local organisations to run programs making a real difference to mental health, and to tailor support to the needs of their community.
“Australia Post recognises the important role that local organisations can play in building resilience and supporting mental wellbeing within their community,” she said.
“These grants help enhance community connections, and we know that when we connect with others, we feel better. We also know that this often results in improved mental health outcomes, and we want to support the organisations that are helping make this happen.”
The 2022 grant recipients support a range of groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, LGBTIQ+ communities, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, people with a disability or care commitments, and young people.
“The continued impact of the pandemic, financial pressures, isolation and the constant demands of everyday life can all impact on mental wellbeing,” said Mangos. “Mental health is a key area of focus at Australia Post, and we’re pleased to award these grants to support such a diverse range of important projects.”
The announcement of grant recipients continues a focus on mental health during September, with Australia Post also encouraging people to connect using free pre-paid postcards as part of a collaboration with Beyond Blue.
“We aim to make mental health part of everyday conversations and support people to stay well and our postcards initiative and the community grants both play a role in this,” said Mangos.
In other news, Australia Post is actively recruiting for up to 6,000 new team members and is looking to attract a wide range of job hunters, including school leavers and seniors. The recruitment drive for permanent and casual team members comes ahead of what’s expected to be another huge Cyber sales and Christmas period.
Job hunters with a forklift, truck or motorcycle licence are top of Australia Post’s wish list, with other available roles including sorting and delivering parcels as well as customer service. Currently there are vacancies in every state and territory, with morning, afternoon and evening shifts all available – and for many roles, no previous experience is necessary.
Australia Post Executive General Manager People and Culture, Susan Davies, said the new team members would be joining an incredibly diverse extended workforce of more than 64,000 people from all walks of life, with people from 134 nationalities.
“We know that many businesses are recruiting at the moment, but we see Australia Post standing out from the pack as a truly inclusive workplace,” said Davies.
“We offer certainty around shifts for the coming peak period and competitive salaries for a wide range of roles, many of which need no previous experience.
“We’re proud of the fact that more than 5.6 per cent of our team identify as having a disability, reflecting our commitment to creating an inclusive organisation as the largest Australian employer to be certified as a Disability Confident Recruiter.
“And while there are great seasonal roles that may suit a number of people in the short term, for others it can also open up more permanent career opportunities. We’ve had many fantastic team members who started as casuals stay on with us long after Christmas.”
There are more than 2,500 casual positions available in parcel and mail processing, as well as more than 780 roles for truck drivers and other delivery drivers, more than 300 positions supporting customers with queries and around 200 opportunities for forklift drivers.
Additional ongoing roles include motorcycle, bicycle, walking and EDV (electric delivery vehicle) posties; truck and van drivers, freight and parcel handlers, forklift operators and opportunities in the Post Office network.
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