12 February 2026

Griffith PCSG's community grant helps funds new outreach van

The Griffith Prostate Cancer Support Group recently secured a $50,000 community grant from Bendigo Bank in New South Wales, paving the way for a dedicated outreach van to take prostate cancer awareness across the Western Riverina and the surrounding border communities of southern New South Wales.

Colin Beaton, the group’s facilitator, who was diagnosed with stage one prostate cancer in 2017 at the age of 65, said they are the only prostate cancer support group servicing the broader Griffith region, stretching west toward the South Australian border and south toward Victoria.

“There are towns out there with nothing. They can ring a Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse, but they don’t have a local group, and they don’t have face-to-face information,” Colin said.

Communities such as Lake Cargelligo, Coleambally, and Hay do not have dedicated prostate cancer support groups.

“At field days and shows, we’ve had men come up to us from out of town and say they’ve got no resources at all,” Colin said. “That’s where the idea really came from.”

The idea was to purchase a van that could operate as a mobile awareness hub. Rather than relying on private vehicles and temporary setups, the group will soon have a dedicated vehicle fitted with an awning and stocked with PCFA booklets, banners and tables.

“We’ll pull up in the allocated area, roll out the awning, set up a couple of tables and put the information out,” Colin said.

“Then we’re ready to go.”

The van is not primarily intended as a transport service, although it may occasionally assist if suitable. Its core purpose is to take reliable information and lived experience directly to regional communities.

“It’s to spread awareness,” Colin said. “To get out to the villages and towns that don’t have access to this information.”

The opportunity arose after the local Bendigo Bank branch manager attended several support group meetings and learned about their vision. She alerted the group to an upcoming community grant round.

The group’s treasurer, John, led the application process, researching census data to estimate how many men in the target age range lived across the Western Riverina and outlining how the van would extend the group’s reach well beyond Griffith.

“We had to work out how many men we could potentially reach,” Colin said. “John did all the research and put the forms together. He did a great job.”

Colin understands the importance of early detection. When he was diagnosed in 2017, the cancer had begun extending beyond the prostate but had not metastasised. He underwent surgery and is now 74 and doing well.

“If I’d left going to the GP and the urologist any longer, it might have been a different story,” he said.

The Griffith Prostate Cancer Support Group, which has been operating for around 15 years, meets monthly in Griffith. Information booklets are made available at every meeting, and men are encouraged to speak openly about diagnosis, treatment and life after cancer.

“Often men don’t get a lot of information at the start,” Colin said. “When they come to our meetings, they can talk to people who’ve been through treatment or are going through it. They find out about things they didn’t know existed.”

Aside from PCFA’s annual Community Grants Program, prostate cancer support groups are encouraged to explore other funding opportunities.

Many banks across Australia offer grants for grassroots health initiatives, including local Bendigo Bank Community Bank branches, Queensland Country Bank’s Good for Good Grants, Bank Australia Community Grants, IMB Community Foundation funding, and larger programs such as the Commonwealth Bank Foundation and NAB Foundation grants.

These programs often prioritise locally led health and wellbeing projects and can provide valuable support for outreach and awareness initiatives.

Colin said the group hopes the van will be on the road soon, attending regional shows and field days roughly once a fortnight.

“We just want to make sure no man out here feels like he’s on his own. If we can start a conversation earlier, that could make all the difference.”

To have a confidential conversation about the grant, please contact Colin at griffith.pcsg@gmail.com.