Taking matters into her own hands, CWA Mudgee Evening branch secretary, Barbara Gow approached Family First to inquire if they were planning on handing out grants this year, as they have previously done for many years.

To Barbara's shock, Family First accepted the request and donated $1,500.

"I had not known that Family First provided grants until I was in the office last year and was asked if we, Mudgee Evening, had applied for a grant. At that time we were looking to install solar on the CWA Rooms, and Family First were very generous and gave us $2,000 towards that project," Barbara said.

"This year I did not wait to be asked. I approached Family First and discovered they were only offering grants this year if they were approached because of COVID-19.

"The Property Management Committee felt that if we were successful in gaining a grant, then it would go towards a defibrillator as the committee saw a need for one in the rooms."

With the CWA rooms typically hired out to a large sector of the community, Barbara said having a defibrillator will offer a sense of relief if an emergency should arise.

"Also, a majority of CWA members are in the older age group so we felt that having one on hand would be an asset. People could have peace of mind that a first response was at hand," she said.

Receiving the grant from Family First is of great assistance with much of CWA Mudgee's typical fundraising efforts having been cancelled due to the coronavirus.

"It will make a huge difference. The rooms have been closed since March and have only just reopened so it will be a little while until we return to normal hiring," Barbara said.

"All catering has been put on hold for the time being, we will have to wait and see when we can resume.

"The Property Management Committee will now be looking to see which defibrillator will be the best for our rooms. We were not expecting to be granted this much money, it means that we can now look at the top of the range.