We have all watched in total disbelief in recent months at the catastrophic flooding that has occurred across the state, in particular the NSW Northern Rivers region.
The destruction of communities, businesses and homes of many thousands of people has been heartbreaking, particularly knowing that many of our customers and employees, as well as our operations have been severely impacted.
It’s why we lent our support to help those most affected by this natural disaster.
Funding injection for #GreaterNorthernRivers
Supporting those organisations that are at the forefront of the community’s flood response will be the focus of the May round of Greater Bank’s #GreaterNorthernRivers Community Funding Program. The monthly funding has been increased to $30,000 for the month of May from the usual $3,000 on offer.
Resilient Lismore, Mid Richmond Neighbourhood Centre and Momentum Collective Casino Neighbourhood Centre are the three beneficiaries for the month. The funding split will be determined by the community through a public vote, with the winner receiving $15,000, and the second and third placegetters receiving $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.
Resilient Lismore is a volunteer-run organisation formed during the 2017 Lismore floods that supports the community with their recovery efforts by connecting locals with volunteer help, information and services. They operate a volunteer hub and have an active network of volunteers who have responded to more than 1000 requests for help.
Mid Richmond Neighbourhood Centre provides a range of services to the communities across the Richmond Valley including Emergency Relief and Food Recovery. They continue to work closely with Government partners within the recovery space, which is currently evolving across the community.
Momentum Collective Casino Neighbourhood Centre delivers programs and services in domestic and family violence, child and youth services, disability, mental health, and community housing. During the recent floods they continued to operate under challenging conditions to provide temporary accommodation, meals as well as a number of other support services.
We’re encouraging the Northern Rivers communities to get behind this special funding round by voting for the organisation they’d like to see get a much needed and well-deserved financial boost.
The May voting round opens on Monday, 2 May and closes at 5:00pm on Wednesday, 25 May 2022.
Click here to find out more about the #GreaterNorthernRivers program and to place your vote .
Lifeline North Coast
In the immediate aftermath of the floods, we linked with Newcastle Permanent to provide joint funding that enabled Lifeline North Coast to deliver critical face-to-face counselling in the Lismore region.
The $40,000 donation funded three Lifeline North Coast mobile vans and staff to travel to the area and provide vital support services to the many members of the community struggling with mental health issues in the wake of the natural disaster.
Lifeline North Coast’s Angela Martin could not thank Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent enough for the support that allowed them to re-establish services after their Lismore-based call centre, shops and the warehouse were destroyed in the floods, which affected their local response.
“The trauma and exhaustion of the past few weeks from the floods was apparent on the faces of everyone within the community,” Angela explained.
“There are no words to describe the catastrophic devastation that was experienced in the Northern Rivers until you feel it by being there, but the true sense of community support and camaraderie was felt by all, everyone gave a helping hand."
Angela Martin, Lifeline North Coast
“It was an incredible privilege for our team to be able to offer our services at the Evacuation centre, to have the face-to-face conversations, the human contact that was so important at a time like this.”
Lifeline's 13 11 14 crisis support service is available 24/7. Anyone in Australia can speak to a trained Crisis Supporter over the phone, any time of the day or night.
Community Banking Hub
Like the majority of Lismore’s shopfronts, Greater Bank’s branch was damaged beyond repair from the flood and is not expected to reopen for some months.
Thanks to the establishment of a Community Banking Hub at Southern Cross University in association with other mutuals from the Northern Rivers region, we were quickly able to offer over-the-counter banking services via a temporary customer service kiosk.
Customers can still visit the Community Banking Hub to conduct their banking, and if required, speak with our customer service teams about financial relief solutions that are available to our customers who have been impacted by the flooding.