Frame Runners Wollongong is powered by 60 volunteers and supports 40 local families. Photos: Frame Runners Wollongong.
For Renee Jurgielan, nothing beats the sight of children experiencing the pure freedom of movement. It is the pulse of the community she helped build — a place where joy, belonging and family connection take centre stage.
As co-director of Frame Running Wollongong Inc, Renee oversees a not-for-profit where children with mobility impairments learn to walk and run using specialised, three-wheeled, pedal-free frames.
What began in April 2021 with just six children has flourished into a vital service, powered by 60 volunteers and supporting 40 local families.
Their rapid growth is due in no small part to the IMB Bank Community Foundation. Grants have allowed the group to sustain weekly sessions and expand its fleet to nearly 40 frames.
“We’re grateful to have the IMB Bank Community Foundation behind us,” Renee said. “Their investment brings happiness and social inclusion to families across the Illawarra. That impact reverberates throughout our entire community.”
Applications are now open for the 2026 funding round, with $770,000 available for projects across six key pillars: social, environmental, cultural, educational, community development, and community connection.
As the cost-of-living crisis tightens its grip on vulnerable Australians, these grants provide a critical lifeline. With research showing one in three people skipping meals and one in four facing chronic loneliness, local grassroots solutions have never been more urgent.
IMB Bank CEO Robert Ryan said the foundation was charged with supporting the many wonderful groups and organisations at the frontlines of a war being fought on several fronts.
“IMB Bank Community Foundation is here to help organisations that help foster culture, education and community connection and who are there for people doing it tough,” he said. “We’re proud to support the many local heroes playing a part in delivering vital services in our communities.”
IMB Bank Community Foundation grants have allowed Frame Runners Wollongong to sustain weekly sessions and expand its fleet to nearly 40 frames.
Over the past 26 years, the foundation has funded more than 1100 projects. Last year saw a record number of applications, with 58 organisations receiving support, including the Wollongong West Street Centre.
The centre is currently using its funding to build “Cooking Up Community” — a safe, welcoming kitchen space designed to foster social bonds.
Wollongong West Street Centre service manager Michelle Fraser said teaching life skills was central to the centre’s goal of supporting women, children and young people who had experienced trauma in the Illawarra.
“This project will help women develop lasting skills in food hygiene, preparation and cooking and facilitate knowledge transfer between multicultural members of our community,” she said.
The IMB Community Foundation Chair Jann Gardner encouraged any not-for-profit with a vision for a better community to apply.
“Our Foundation is focused on providing much-needed funding to local community organisations and initiatives that deliver tangible, measurable and enduring impacts in the communities they serve,” she said.
“These include organisations that feed families, shelter those fleeing violence, support the isolated and elderly, and connect disadvantaged young people to opportunity. They deserve sustained support.”
Applications for 2026 close on 14 June. Not-for-profit community organisations can check eligibility and apply online at the IMB Bank Community Foundation website.
