Community
28 June, 2024
Surprise boost for SES unit
PORT Fairy SES unit was one of 10 groups to benefit from the latest round of grants announced by the town’s Community Bank.
The Community Bank (Port Fairy and District) celebrated its 10th birthday with a special evening on Monday night, enjoyed by around 200 shareholders, guests, customers and community partners.
Belfast Community Enterprises Ltd chair Damian Gleeson reiterated the significance of the important role the steering committee had played in setting up the bank in Port Fairy.
“Without their vision there would be no bank in Port Fairy today,” Mr Gleeson told the crowd.
He praised all staff and directors who had been involved with the bank since its opening on June 24, 2014 and also thanked the customers whose banking had made such a difference over the years.
“Thanks to you all, $840,000 has been invested into the community through 101 community groups,” he said.
“In addition, the Community Bank has $485,000 deposited to enable it to continue to support further community opportunities.”
One of the highlights of the night was an announcement by Mr Gleeson of grants to 10 organisations, totalling $78, 512.
The major recipient was the Port Fairy SES unit which received $50,000 towards the purchase of a new vehicle.
“These SES volunteers play an important role in keeping our community safe and supporting other emergency services,” Mr Gleeson said.
Board of Directors founding chairman Peter Langley, and his successor Ralph Leutton, made the cheque presentation to unit controller Hannah Morris.
“We are absolutely thrilled with this donation, it will certainly go a long way towards purchasing an additional 4WD twin cab ute,” Ms Morris said.
“It (Monday night’s presentation) was a complete surprise and we are so very grateful; we really didn’t expect this level of support.
“This project has been in the pipeline for quite some time now and this money means we can now go ahead with the vehicle purchase.”
The Port Fairy SES unit currently has 22 operational volunteers along with eight associate members.
Another highlight of the evening was the announcement of the Community Bank’s best community photo and community story competition.
The competition was the brainchild of director Nicole Dwyer and attracted several outstanding entries.
Port Fairy Urban Fire Brigade won the best photo/story, claiming first prize of $2,000.
Macarthur Bowls Club was successful with the best photo while the Port Fairy Angling Club won the best story category – each received a $500 prize (which the angling club donated to Western District Foodshare).
A celebratory 10th birthday cake was cut and shared among guests.
