Thursday December 10, 2020
Community spirit is alive and well within Griffith City Council, with the annual staff fundraising initiative helping three local charities.
On Tuesday, 8 December 2020, a special morning tea was held to present Griffith CanAssist, Griffith Suicide Prevention & Support Group and Country Hope with cheques for $500 each.
General Manager Brett Stonestreet is delighted with the community spirit demonstrated and commended Council staff for their generosity.
"This is a fantastic way for staff to give back to the community that they work and live in each day," Mr Stonestreet said.
"I am extremely proud of the staff at Griffith City Council for their willingness to make a difference behind the scenes and recognise the important work our local charities do.
"They pay a fine once a month to wear casual clothes and also hold raffles and morning teas to raise these funds. Over the last 10 years staff have donated close to $15,000."
Bev Devery from Country Hope thanked staff for helping, in what has been a difficult year for many local families coping with sick children.
"It's been exceptionally hard this year without flights being available," she said.
"The challenges of treatment and the risks posed by COVID-19 has meant that parents made many road trips to Sydney or Melbourne. This money will help us provide petrol vouchers."
Griffith Can Assist President, Olga Forner said, the money would be used to support local cancer patients and their families.
"We are extremely grateful for this donation," Mrs Forner said.
"Every little bit helps, especially this year as we haven't been able to fundraise."
Griffith Suicide Prevention & Support Group President, Val Woodland, said their aim was to raise awareness, with the funds received helping achieve that.
"We are trying to get the message out to encourage people to reach out," she said.
"This money will help us pay the phone bill and raise our profile. We have one of the highest suicide rates in the state so we are very appreciative of this so that we can let more people know there is help available if they need it."
Council staff are also supporting St Vincent De Paul, with gifts from their annual Giving Tree delivered.
