In fact this year, for the first time, we smashed the million dollar milestone with a whopping total of $1,028,402.00. Now that’s something to raise the spirits of the region in this difficult time. ­

Moree certainly had something to cheer about last Thursday evening, with Regional Australia Bank awarding $59,584.42 to the local community at Any Occasion, Max Centre in Moree.

The donated funds will be divided amongst a number of fantastic local organisations and businesses. Some of this year’s recipients include:

Fairview Retirement Village provides high quality Aged Care services and facilities for the community of Moree and District. 

They first signed up with the Community Partnership Program ten years ago.

Last year’s donation was used to purchase a number of resident monitoring systems. These important safety devices allow staff to know where residents are and be able to track them if they wander beyond the grounds.

With this year’s money Fairview is planning to buy a new Vital Signs Monitor.

The guide dog support group use donation money to help them with their twice yearly raffles. One on Mother’s Day and the other at Christmas.

Any money left over from purchasing prizes for these events goes towards training the guide dogs.

This year’s donation will be used to continue the training and upkeep of the guide dogs.

Tourism Moree are a not-for-profit organization who do a fantastic job raising awareness about Moree as a tourist destination.

Basically, they use donation money to help other community groups with promotions, info packs, brochures, gifts bags and anything else that will help promote awareness and get visitors flocking to the area.

This year’s donation will go towards helping local businesses who have been hit hard by the knock on effect of the drought.

Regional Australia Bank member relationship officer Emma Cahill explained: “We’re hugely proud of our ability to deliver social and environmental returns to our regional communities. We are passionate about giving back to our community and empowering our customers to support local community groups they feel strongly about.”

The community Partnership Program allows new bank customers to open a transaction account and at the same time pledge their support for a group or organization close to their heart. 

Regional Australia Bank then calculates the average annual balance of all supporters’ accounts and donates 1% of the total to the cause on the customers’ behalf – all without costing them a cent. 

With more and more people getting on board, the Community Partnership Program has continued to grow at over 30% per year ­– and provides invaluable donations to various local grass roots clubs and community groups.

“The Community Partnership Program is just one of the ways in which we assist our customers and communities,” Regional Australia Bank CEO Kevin Dupé said.

“Regional Australia Bank is proud to continue delivering the Community Support Program in 2018, enabling it to continue enhancing the quality of life and a strong sense of community for the regions it serves.

“Our customer owned structure means that not only do our clientele benefit from fairer fees, competitive interest rates and the local expertise, they also know they’re benefiting Regional Australia by helping it prosper and thrive.”

In addition to the Community Partnership Program, Regional Australia Bank also gives 5% of its net profits back to the community through sponsorships to local clubs and community organisations, as well as contributing to regional infrastructure projects. 

The Community Partnership Program represents community activism at its best and we want to thank all our loyal members. Because without your ongoing support, this invaluable donation scheme would not be able to thrive.

“After all, it’s the opportunity to make a difference, to build better communities and to create better places to live that drives so many of us – so it’s fitting that our customers, who are also members of our communities, lead the way in initiatives like this one,” Ms Cahill said.