Two hundred and one community organisations from across the country are the worthy recipients of a $10,000 donation from the CommBank Staff Foundation’s 2023 Community Grants program.
As cost-of-living pressures continue to make their mark, the CommBank Staff Foundation has raised $2,010,000 to fund these grants through regular salary donations from staff that are then matched by CommBank.
In line with CommBank’s 100-plus year-strong commitment to supporting the community, each year employees who are members of the CommBank Staff Foundation are invited to nominate charities they are passionate about to receive funding across a range of community touchpoints, from hardship to medical, education and beyond.
This year’s recipients are a cross-section of Australia, with organisations represented providing funding to drought relief, children’s health, survivors of domestic violence, migrant resourcing, Indigenous education, mental health, and many more.
One of this year’s recipients is ReLove, nominated by Alison Callaghan, a General Manager in CommBank’s supplier risk and governance team. The charity strives to support some of Australia’s most at risk, providing good quality rescued furniture and other household items at no-cost, direct to people in crisis. The model also supports the reuse of items and cuts down on landfill. “In an organisation like ours, we have so many opportunities to help people in need that are not necessarily financial in nature. While it’s great from a sustainability perspective, for me it’s mostly great for its humanitarian contribution. I am wowed by the power of ReLove, and hope they are beaming with pride for what they do for others,” said Ms Callaghan.
Jacki Goodridge, relationships manager at ReLove says the donation is a gamechanger. “The $10,000 grant from CommBank will change lives – it costs us approximately $400 to provide our service to each family, who in turn receive around $10,000-$15,000 of furniture and household items from our store for free.
“This grant will allow ReLove to scale the number of families it supports by an extra 25 families, which is incredible – we are so grateful for the support of the CommBank Staff Foundation,” said Ms Goodridge.
Joining ReLove as a 2023 recipient is the Country Education Foundation of Australia, a national organisation that helps rural and regional youth gain access to further education.
Juliet Petersen, CEO of the Country Education Foundation, has big plans for the $10,000 grant. “Moving away from home to continue education is as much a financial pressure as it is an emotional one. We will be establishing the CBA accommodation scholarship which will be awarded to four students to help make their next education step a safe and secure one.
“We are so grateful to the CommBank Staff Foundation for supporting regional and rural youth in following their dreams this way,” Ms Petersen said.
Nathan Barker, Chapter Lead – Community Investment at CommBank said: “We are so proud of the incredible array of inspiring organisations that have been put forward by our people via the CommBank Staff Foundation. These organisations are a reflection of the communities we work in every day, and we are so proud to support these charities in their work in building brighter communities across Australia.”
For the full list of 2023 grant recipients, visit: commbank.com.au/communitygrants
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