The Greater Building Society has won Wesley Mission's 2006 Corporate Award.

The award was presented to Greater general manager John Arnold at Wesley Mission's annual Spirit of Mission Dinner at the Sheraton on the Park in Sydney last night.

Mr Arnold says he is honoured to accept the award on behalf of the staff and members of the Greater.

"The Greater is proud to be able to support the great work done by the Mission to improve the lives of young and disadvantaged people in our community,' Mr Arnold says.

"We have a responsibility to help those who are striving to make the communities in which we operate better places for everyone," he says.

The Corporate Award is presented to a business that has supported the Mission in a number of ways and on a number of projects.

The Greater was a sponsor of the Mission's Homes for Hope project. Staff also helped with landscaping the homes in Newcastle. It is currently sponsoring the Mission's Lifeforce Program which aims to raise awareness about suicide prevention in rural and regional NSW. The Greater also assists with printing of materials for the Newcastle Mission and is donating computers to its Schools for Seniors Program.

The Greater was nominated by Wesley Newcastle City Mission community relations manager Scott Lyons. Mr Lyons also nominated Prime Television which took out the Media Award.

Now in its 20th year, the dinner brings together more than 300 Wesley Mission staff, volunteers, donors and clients as well as corporate supporters and sponsors. It provides an opportunity for Wesley Mission to acknowledge and thank all those who contribute in a variety of ways to the Mission.

NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney was guest speaker at the dinner. Former ABC broadcaster Margaret Throsby hosted the evening.

Other awards included Volunteer Award, Individual Donor Award, Superintendent's Award, Corporate Citizenship Award, Media Award and Community Award.

Wesley Mission is the third largest charity in Australia and the largest in NSW.