Round SIX of the With One Voice Start-up grant applications is now open

With One Voice Start-up Grants on offer – up to $10K available!
Current Round Applications close 1st June, 2018

The With One Voice choirs are about strengthening communities and inspiring individuals to find their voice. We believe empowered individuals and supportive communities are better placed to solve society’s big challenges including cross-cultural integration, unemployment, mental illness, productivity, skills shortages, loneliness and isolation, family fragmentation, homelessness and more. Creativity Australia is offering a limited number of seed funding grants to make it easier for communities to start their own choir.

“It’s not hard to be part of the solution to the loneliness epidemic,” says Creativity Australia Founder, Tania de Jong AM, “it’s just about finding ways to bring the community together to support one another.”

It is an opportunity to create connections and friendships between diverse people in our community. It is about reaching out to those who are experiencing disadvantage and encouraging the socially advantaged in our community to engage with, learn from and help these people.  Learn more about the members we have helped here –  member stories.

Round four of the With One Voice Start Up fund is now open to local community groups, not-for-profits and businesses to tackle loneliness, isolation and disadvantage in their community. Successful applicants join a 12-month intensive mentoring program to guide them through the process of building their own With One Voice choir and a $10k Start-up Grant.

Founder & CEO of Centre for Hope, Geraldine Moran, the first successful applicant from Round One, says “With One Voice perfectly encapsulates the unity we want to create for our community. Mentoring is such a powerful tool, and through the With One Voice mentoring program we are learning quickly, safely and in a supported manner.”

For more information and to apply for a place in the With One Voice Start-up project, visit www.creativityaustralia.org.au/start.

Press Release_December, 2017 

Conductor Development Program – Singing for Inclusion

APPLY FOR $2500 SCHOLARSHIP

More than 60% of people in our communities have felt lonely and disconnected at some time. For people experiencing disadvantage, this number is even higher. The financial, social and individual costs to our communities are growing every day, but solutions that are genuinely inclusive and accessible are limited.

Singing for Inclusion is a training course designed in partnership with Creativity Australia and Community Music Victoria to support community choirs and the With One Voice social inclusion program leaders to make a difference.

“In a world that is increasingly disconnected, community singing is an incredible way to connect people, create opportunities and improve wellbeing” says Creativity Australia founder Tania de Jong AM.

“Unfortunately, true inclusivity is hard to achieve, even for the most well-meaning and committed singing leader” says Community Music Victoria Chair Jane Coker.

Social inclusion singing groups require leaders that combine the skills of social worker, community development, teacher and conductor. This is a rare combination of skills that very few people possess.

The Sing for Inclusion training course will provide critical skills for musical leaders already working in this space, and develop new leaders so more communities can benefit from the inclusive power of singing.

To make the training accessible to community singing leaders, who are often volunteers or run programs in their spare time, 25 scholarships are being awarded. This has been made possible through the generous support of the Ian Potter Foundation and The RE Ross Trust.

Leaders can apply here or at  Community Music Victoria (www.cmvic.org.au)

Download Application Form here.

Impact 25 Award 2016

Our Founder and Chair Tania de Jong AM has been voted as one of the not-for-profit and social sector’s most impactful individuals of 2016.

The members of Impact 25 spend their days advocating for the issues of the day, working with the disadvantaged and silenced groups, finding ways to improve efficiency, inspiring others and even leading the country. The winners this year are a fantastic group of individuals you can see all the winners here.

Tania’s hard work with Creativity Australia and the wider Australian community is inspiring , and we are delighted to see she has been recognised as an Impact 25 2016 winner.

Start your own With One Voice Choir

We have 10k grants available to help you establish a With One Voice choir in your local community, submit an Expression of Interest outlining who you are, your community and the need. Round 6 is officially open so get your applications in before Friday June 1, 2018. 

https://www.creativityaustralia.org.au/apply/

By establishing a local community choir under the auspices of Creativity Australia (as a registered charity) you hold a licence that enables the choir to raise funds to support projects and initiatives at a local level.

Melbourne Award 2016 Winners – Contribution to Community by a Community Organisation

Start Your Own With One Voice Choir

Do you want to make a MASSIVE difference in your community?

Creativity Australia have created a series of How To Guides, videos and resources to assist any local community establish a With One Voice choir, enabling you to change lives and build healthier, happier, more inclusive and stronger communities.

By establishing a local community choir under the auspices of Creativity Australia (as a registered charity) you hold a licence that enables the choir to raise funds to support projects and initiatives at a local level.

If you would like to establish a choir in your local community, submit an Expression of Interest outlining who you are, your community and the need. The first round is now open and entries close 5pm (Victorian time) on 23 November 2016. We will hold subsequent rounds in 2017.

Please find the Expression of Interest information here.

7 Days of Sing for Good

There are only 7 days left of Sing for Good 2016!! It has been wonderful to see all the fantastic entries and generous donations this year. Most importantly it is so delightful to see how much fun people are having in their entry.

We want to keep spreading this joy and all entries as they deserve to be seen. In these 7 days think about your community, think about your friends think about your neighbour, think about the difference you could make in your life and theirs by supporting social inclusion programs like this one.

Sing for Good donations goes towards running With One Voice choirs. They are community choirs that encourage people from all walks of life to come together and unite with singing. Go to our gallery and watch some of the incredible entries. You are guaranteed to have a laugh and definitely smile. Pick your favourites and donate to them. They all have a target, and some are so close to reaching it. Once you have donated a share, the videos with your friends and family.

Grants available to start your own choir

Would you like to make a MASSIVE difference in your community to change lives?

Creativity Australia welcomes all communities from across Australia to apply for seed funding to create a With One Voice community choir and be part of the solution to building stronger communities and reducing loneliness, isolation and disadvantage in their community.

Did you know?

• 8 in 10 Australians think our society is becoming lonelier, while 6 in 10 say they often feel lonely (Lifeline 2016).
• Lacking social connections is as damaging to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and people experiencing social isolation have an average of 29% increased mortality (Holt-Lunstad, 2010 & 2015).
• Mental health impacts ~27% of Australians.
• Real unemployment and underemployment continues to increase (~26% over the past 11 years) and approximately 1 million Australian households (nearly 3 million people) experience financial stress.
• Approximately 640,000 Australians (~5%) experience multiple and complex disadvantage leading to increasing levels of social exclusion.

The With One Voice program has been proven to enhance wellbeing, create greater social inclusion and increased community support with 98% of participants experiencing less stress, 91% improved social bonds and 66% less depressed. Furthermore, 79%  of participants have learned new things and gained new skills for work and life, and 60% have gained increased understanding & appreciation of diversity.  The program has also been named in Anthill’s SMART 100 social innovations in 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.

Deadline is Wednesday 23 November 2016.

Find more information and apply for a grant.

Download the media release.

With One BIG Voice Sing for Good Finale

Change a life today!

Yes, the end of the financial year is near, and at Creativity Australia, we are turning lives around.

Loneliness is the global epidemic of our times. More than 2 in 5 people feel socially isolated and unheard. This leads to mental and physical health issues and economic disadvantage.

You can change this by donating to our life-changing With One Voice program this financial year.

That’s Amore!

Altona Meadows Primary School and With One Voice Altona Meadows Singing Together in Harmony

Last week Benetas St George’s hosted An Afternoon of Dean Martin, a collaboration of students from Altona Meadows Primary School and the members of With One Voice Altona Meadows.

Conducted by With One Voice lead conductor Kym Dillon, the With One Voice Altona Meadows group includes residents of Benetas St George’s Aged Care Facility as well as friends, family and community members. Over several weeks the students of Altona Meadows Primary, lead by Gregory Hall, visited the facility to rehearse with the choir. The students incorporated their musical instrument skills into the songs, and the two groups learned to sing in harmony.

Age proved no boundary, as the two groups delivered a stellar performance to a jubilant crowd at Benetas St George’s on Wednesday.

Click below to see some footage of the event:

Many thanks to Altona Meadows Primary School, and Benetas for hosting. We look forward to more songs and laughter from Altona Meadows!

All are welcome, join With One Voice today.

With One Voice St Kilda performs at Tobin Brothers Art for the Heart Exhibition Opening

With One Voice St Kilda were proud to perform once again at Parliament House, for the opening of The Tobin Brothers Art For the Heart Exhibition.

Art for the Heart is an art exhibition held by Tobin Brothers Funerals that honours the use of creativity as a powerful source of healing and expression during the process of grief. It offers a space for people to tell their stories of loss, love & hope in new ways and to bring the community together to share the often hidden experiences of grief and depression. Many of the artworks were donated for auction to raise money for The Compassionate Friends Victoria.

Head to Youtube for videos.