An innovative idea to increase health and wellbeing across Gilgandra has just received funding, meaning the 'Gilgandra Gets Goin’ – Have a Crack Challenge’ will soon be underway.

Last week, the Western NSW Local Health District’s (WNSWLHD) Health Promotion team announced Gilgandra as one of the two finalists for the 2025-26 Building Healthy Communities Challenge, which will run between 1 September 2025 and 3 April 2026.

This second edition of the Building Healthy Communities Challenge aims to empower towns with fewer than 5,000 people to take control of their health by providing funding and assistance to implement a community-led health initiative.

WNSWLHD Health Promotion Coordinator Hayley Vaughan said that after being selected by an independent panel of judges, Gilgandra will receive $10,000 in funding along with intensive support to deliver its initiative.

“We’re so excited to announce Gilgandra as a finalist, especially as we’ve enhanced the challenge this year.

"The funding support each town gets has increased by $2,000 from last year, which will go a long way,” Ms Vaughan said.

“After the success of the inaugural challenge, we received overwhelming interest from communities so we must congratulate and thank all the towns which put forward their ideas.

"Our panel had an incredibly difficult time narrowing it down to two.”

A successful bid for funding means the Gilgandra community can look forward to plenty of healthy activities.

The Gilgandra Gets Goin’ – Have a Crack Challenge’, is built around fun, inclusive and accessible sporting activities designed to promote improved physical activity, social connection and health literacy for people of all ages.

“The program will offer a series of non-competitive sporting activities across the challenge period, with different local community groups facilitating one evening of sport each week on a rotating basis, encouraging people to come together to get moving,” Ms Vaughan said.

“The activities will be complemented by data tracking, including analysis of step counts, and impacts on blood pressure and pulse rates, while wellbeing indicators will also be measured throughout the challenge to provide a better understanding of its benefits.”

Gilgandra’s working group also has a major focus on longevity.

The initiative will utilise and promote the improvement of existing physical, health-based infrastructure in the community, ensuring access to resources long after the challenge period.

Peak Hill has also been named a finalist, with its ‘Healthy Eating, Activity and Resilience Together (HEART) Project’ focusing on active and passive movement, sustainable eating, and skills building.

WNSWLHD Health Promotion Officer Karen Lloyd said that following the challenge period, an independent panel will assess the success of each initiative and crown a champion to receive an additional $4,000 in funding support.

“Helping our communities build the skills they need to deliver sustainable programs into the future is our key aim, so along with additional funding our team will also continue providing support well beyond the challenge period,” Ms Lloyd said.

“We have seen the ongoing success of last year’s finalists, Manildra and Grenfell, as they have maintained their programs, and we’re hopeful Gilgandra will also be able to really embed its initiative long-term.”