New activity centre moves from hope to reality at Hope Reins

A new education and activity centre is “a dream come true” for Langshaw’s Hope Reins, with Federal Member for Wide Bay and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Llew O’Brien officially opening the building today.

Mr O’Brien said Hope Reins was a much-loved organisation in the Gympie region, working with rescue horses and vulnerable people, to improve quality of life for both, and congratulated the organisation on the new $389,000 building opening.

“This new building is a fantastic addition to Hope Reins which will be used as a hub for indoor activities, crafts, education programs and training the organisation’s 50 volunteers, half of whom are aged under 18,” Mr O’Brien said.

“It’s wonderful to see so many young people volunteering to make a difference in their community, and I am pleased to support the incredible work that Hope Reins does to build positive relationships with 100 children and adults in the Gympie region every year.”

“Hope Reins is the living embodiment of their motto, healing horses helping hurting humans.”

The new building will provide a meeting room, kitchen, storage facilities, an indoor toilet and open space to congregate, and the project received $140,000 through Round 4 of the Liberals and Nationals Government’s Building Better Regions Program.

Hope Reins co-founder Ruth Polley said the new education centre would make a significant difference to the volunteers and participants, taking the organisation forward into a new era of expanded services.

“It’s the realisation of a dream to weather-proof our program so we can add more activities, and provide a place for volunteers to build connections and relationships,” Ms Polley said.

“It’s an incredible clubhouse and will allow us to increase the variety of programs we can offer to include activities like a sewing group and a woodworking group, which adds value to the program; and provides somewhere for volunteers to store their belongings.

“It has been a struggle to raise funds through Covid-19, and without Llew O’Brien’s support through this grant, it would have remained a dream.”

Mr O’Brien said the project would have ongoing benefit not just for Hope Reins participants but also the broader Gympie community with two FTE jobs created throughout the construction period, and a further 1.5 FTE jobs expected in ongoing roles.

“Projects funded through the Building Better Regions Fund, like this one at Hope Reins, help transform communities and ensure Wide Bay remains strong, resilient and prosperous in the long term, as well as boosting economic prosperity, creating jobs and building new opportunities in our region,” Mr O’Brien said.

The Government invested a total of $1.38 billion across nearly 1,300 projects through the Building Better Regions Fund so far, including $300 million in the most recent Round 5 of the program which created an estimated 9,900 jobs.

Successful projects from Round 6 of the Building Better Regions Fund are expected to be announced mid-year.