General News
10 November, 2022
Funding boost for local groups and organisations
The results of the Community Bank Avoca, Maryborough and St Arnaud’s annual Community Grants Program is in, with projects across the region receiving $44,221 in funding. Among the groups to receive funding for projects are Asteria Services, with...
The results of the Community Bank Avoca, Maryborough and St Arnaud’s annual Community Grants Program is in, with projects across the region receiving $44,221 in funding.
Among the groups to receive funding for projects are Asteria Services, with $1620 for a fitness program, the Avoca Cemetery Trust with $2750 for restoration works, the Avoca Primary School will receive $8500 for a mural project and Avoca’s historical society will receive $3000 for building repairs.
Avoca District Co-operative Limited chair Lloyd Gollop said the local bank has now given more than $1.7 million to the community in the past 20 years.
“This announcement further demonstrates the deep connection we have with our community. It is a great reminder of the good that banking locally can do when profits are returned to benefit local people and their communities,” he said.
“These projects contribute to the important investment we’ve made locally since 1999, now over $1.7 million.
“With the support of our customers we can continue to grow our business and most importantly, our community.”
Bendigo Bank’s Community Bank model is based on a profit with purpose philosophy, which means profits are returned directly to the local community that generated them.
The Maryborough Theatre Company secured just over $7000 for its 2023 Community Christmas Carols and member Joyce Sedunary said the grant would help keep carollers singing.
“This funding helps keep the local carols going, we are all voluntary but there are costs involved with equipment,” she said.
“This funding also means we’re able to provide anything from tea and coffee through to big screens and sound systems we need for carols on the day.”
Ms Sedunary said the importance of Christmas carols in the community couldn’t be understated.
“We held the carols at the Harness Racing Complex last year because it was raining and we thought we’d lose people because of that, as well as coming out of COVID,” she said.
“What we found was a jam packed space — I don’t think you can underestimate what it means to come together as a group of people to put on carols and what it does for everyone involved.
“We have young kids all the way through to elderly people involved in carols and what it does for us is it builds connection and a real community feel.
“When you see the community joining in, the impact it has on people is fantastic and for me personally, it’s one of the happiest things that I do.”