A Tasmanian community organisation has received an unexpected windfall that will significantly boost its programs.
St Helens Neighbourhood House on Tasmania’s East Coast was surprised with a $120,000 donation from Commonwealth Bank’s Community Grant program during a visit from television personality Sam Mac.
The emotional moment was captured on live TV as Mac presented an oversized cheque to the visibly moved staff and volunteers.
“This is more than we could have ever wanted,” said a representative from St Helens Neighbourhood House.
“You don’t know how much this means to the community, the young people. We have an incredible team here and this is just going to make so much difference to what we can do.”
The organisation had initially thought they were receiving $20,000 when nominated for the grant, before they were surprised with the $120,000 cheque.
The not-for-profit plans to use the substantial funding to expand their youth mental health services throughout the Break O’Day region.
“We can support the mental health of young people which is so important. We can make sure the quality of the programs we want to deliver is available,” the representative said.
“We can expand our team. We can support so many more young people across the whole of Break O’Day,” the representative explained.
The donation comes at a crucial time for the organisation, which has struggled with funding challenges common to many community service providers.
“It’s so hard to get money to support young people. The support of the Commonwealth Bank in doing this is just incredible.”
