28 September 2016
Surfcoast Bushfire Appeal
Thankyou to all who donated to our Surfcoast Bushfire Appeal which has now closed. A total of $38,000.00 was raised from this initiative. Take a moment to read all about it.
As a bank, we're great with banking (just ask our customers) but we also care about our Communities.
To our customers - this is the good work that we can do, because of you.
We wish to advise that our Surf Coast Bushfire Appeal is now closed. The appeal raised just over $38k. The funds will be used for the relief, recovery and construction of the community following the bushfires and distributed by the Spirit Foundation.
When the bushfires impacted Wye River and Separation Creek on Christmas Day, 116 homes were lost, significantly impacting not only those directly affected, but the entire broader community. Those properties that were left standing were inaccessible due to power, debris, landslip etc. In the ensuing months since these people were left homeless, in many instances with mortgages still to be paid, no insurance assistance and then also having to pay rent.
Following a request of community members who wanted to offer financial support, Bendigo Banks Winchelsea, Anglesea, Apollo Bay Community Bank® Branches and Lorne Agency joined forces with The Spirit Foundation to establish the Surfcoast Bushfire Appeal via the Banks Community Enterprise Foundation ™. This appeal was able to be established within 24 hours of the fire.
A Local Advisory Committee was established to make recommendations as to where the funds would make the most difference to those affected by the fire. This committee, along with the Directors of the Spirit Foundation have worked closely with the Wye River and Separation Creek Recovery Group (WSRG) to assist the affected community and community members after the bushfire.
The WSRG was established following a large impromptu meeting of property owners in Wye/Sep/Kennett. The meeting was called in response to a request from the Emergency Services Commissioner to establish a local group, broadly representative of the communities, and could advise on recovery priorities in the short, immediate and long term. To date approximately $350,000 (including a very significant contribution from the Red Cross) has been distributed by the Spirit Foundation following recommendations from WSRG. The WSRG has been responsible for accommodating permanent residents who lost their homes, co-ordinating monies and vouchers to purchase goods, successful funding submissions from government and CFA, negotiating with Council, and assisting any needs of the community such as clearing debris and filling insurance claims for those too traumatised to do so.’
We are pleased to advise that the funds from the Surfcoast appeal will go towards those directly impacted by the bushfire. These funds will assist these impacted residents to continue to recover and hopefully re-establish themselves back into the community.
Our sincere thanks to all those persons who donated to the appeal. The Bendigo Bank (and Community Bank® network) are truly family when it comes to supporting communities in times of need. And it is in these times when we are most proud of our network and what we can do for community.
