By KATH GANNAWAY
A $50,000 donation to Animal Aid will go a long way towards meeting some of the immediate needs that the Coldstream shelter is dealing with in the face of ageing infrastructure.
The Bendigo Bank presented the cheque to Animal Aid on Friday as part of the Give Them a Voice national campaign that was instigated by the Wandin Seville Community Bank Branch in 2012 and contributed to by the 13 Yarra Ranges branches.
Animal Aid CEO Mark Menze said he has a graveyard of old washing machines that have given their all to keep things a bit more comfortable for the hundreds of dogs and cats that are taken in each year and for the staff and volunteers who care for them.
“There’s a whole lot of washing involved here and we’re running on donated household top loaders,” he said citing just one example of why this donation is so welcome.
A heater blew up last week, plumbing needs attention and Mr Menze said volunteer drivers are doing their pick-ups and drop-offs in a 20-year-old van.
“Grants usually come attached to specific projects so for us to get this amount of money with no stipulations on what it has to be spent on, to put in the bank and use for some of these immediate projects we have on the books, is great,” he said.
Former Bendigo Bank Yarra Ranges Regional Manager Mark Nolan said the Wandin Seville branch had built and maintained a strong mutual relationship with Animal Aid.
“Hopefully they see us as a good friend from a banking perspective, as well as a good friend from a community perspective,” he said.
Animal Aid Board chairwoman Fran Bailey thanked the bank and said there was a great synergy between Bendigo Bank and Animal Aid as organisations that respond to needs in their communities.
She said its open door policy for lost, abandoned and abused animals meant Animal Aid didn’t turn any animal away.
“We have incredible success stories of animals that have been here for long times and been successfully rehomed.
“But that takes a lot of money so we are very grateful for cheques like this and the very valuable partnership we have with Bendigo Bank,” she said.
