Sunflower House expansion gets a boost as Beyond Bank injects more than $190,000 into Wagga community

Wagga's Sunflower House is on its way to receiving a much-needed refurbishment and expansion thanks to a $20,000 grant and fundraising campaign launched by Beyond Bank Australia last night at its annual Community Rewards presentation. The event, held at the Botanic Gardens Restaurant, also included a further $170,000 being distributed to more than 160 sporting, educational, health and community groups in the Riverina.

The Sunflower House Building Project will see the kitchen upgraded to commercial standards, new dedicated dining room facilities and additional office space to accommodate training programs.

The refurbishment will help Sunflower House, which is a division of the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW, expand its existing programs – and create new ones – to meet rising demand for services that help its members enter the workforce.

The Chairman of Friends of Sunflower House, Dr Ian Macdonald, said the grant and additional support with fundraising would help the program, introduced to Wagga Wagga in 2002, provide respect and opportunity to its members.

“Sunflower House provides a valuable service to those in the region living with mental illness by providing a supportive, non-judgmental environment that encourages fitness, socialising, education and pursuing a healthy lifestyle,” Mr Macdonald said.

"The generosity of Beyond Bank and its support for the local community will enable us to begin the building program and ensure that the needs of those living with mental illness are provided for well into the future.”

A further $40,000 is required to complete the building project and Beyond Bank will assist in staging a fundraising drive to secure the remaining money needed for the refurbishment.

Beyond Bank’s General Manager Community Development, Peter Rutter said Sunflower House was a most worthy recipient of this year’s regional grant.

“We’re pleased to award our major regional community grant to Sunflower House this year to support its Building Project as its recovery service plays such an important role in providing much-needed support and a proactive rehabilitation to many across the Riverina each year,” Mr Rutter said.

Sunflower House also benefits from Beyond Bank’s Community Reward Account program, which was introduced in Wagga Wagga in 2002.

Since Beyond Bank established the account 12 years ago, more than $1.7 million has been distributed to community groups across Australia, helping them to continue delivering services that make a difference to the community. Sunflower House has received more than $25,000 via the Community Reward Account program.

Mr Rutter said the Community Reward Account bonus payments and the Major Regional Community grant were important initiatives that strengthened the fabric of the Riverina community.

“We’ve seen some amazing results and truly positive changes in many organisations in Wagga Wagga as a direct result of the funds we’ve been able to provide through the Community Reward Account,” Mr Rutter said.

“We’re proud of our commitment to the community and will continue to support the organisations that really matter to the local Wagga community in the future both through the Community Reward Account and other funding, volunteer and service support initiatives,” he said.

Community Reward Account funding is distributed to not-for-profit and charitable groups which have registered as a recipient of the program. Beyond Bank account holders select which group they’d like to support and at the end of each financial year, a percentage of the average balance held in all Community Reward Accounts assigned to each organisation is donated from Beyond Bank revenues.

For more information, go to http://www.beyondbank.com.au/personal-banking/accounts/savings-accounts/community-rewards-savings-account.html