General News
1 March, 2023
Funds flow for groups
THREE local community organisations received a surprise when the Terang Co-op donated the proceeds from the IGA’s community chest initiative – then doubled it.
THREE local community organisations received a surprise when the Terang Co-op donated the proceeds from the IGA’s community chest initiative – then doubled it.
Terang Children’s Centre, Riding Develops Abilities Glenormiston group and the Terang Wetland Project all shared in more than $4230 last week under the fundraising initiative.
Terang and District Co-op chief executive officer Kevin Ford said the decision was made early on to match the funds raised for each of the groups through the initiative.
“It is part of the IGA giving back to the community,” he said.
“We want to make sure a reasonable contribution gets back to these worthy organisations.
“They need it during such trying times and we’re happy to support them.”
The funds were raised through the IGA’s community chest initiative, which sees a percentage of proceeds from all Community Co products and catalogue promotion items sold donated to the fund.
Under the promotion customers were given the opportunity to place tokens in boxes at the front of the store, designating which groups they would like to see the funds donated to.
Mr Ford thanked the groups for their dedication to making the community a better place to live and work.
“We’re proud to be supporting the local community organisations who give back,” he said.
“That’s what it’s all about for us as a Co-op.
We feel it is our responsibility to give back to these organisations wherever we can.”
Former Terang Children’s Centre Parents Group president and parent Claire Wines said the contribution provided a boost for kinder students through the purchase of a new chicken coop for hatchlings and wicker baskets for the veggie garden.
“It’s awesome, it’s a great contribution,” she said.
“It was amazing for the Terang Co-op to match that contribution too.
“We really appreciate it because it’s going to go a long way and a great support for the local community.”
Terang Wetlands Project committee member Frances Bryant said the funding could be used to support a diverse range of projects currently in the works at the Foley Street site.
“Every single bit helps because it’s a community run project by volunteers,” she said.
“Fundraising is always difficult, especially during hard times, so it’s just great the Co-op took up the initiative and we really appreciate it and those who donated their tokens to us.”
RDA Glenormiston branch secretary Sylvia Brown said the funding would support a new addition to the RDA ranks.
“There’s always something ongoing, such as helmets for the kids or the maintenance of our new pony; Penny,” she said.
“We’ve never had that before so naturally we’re going to have more costs there.
“It takes the pressure off to get a donation like this, and it is peace of mind if there is a hiccup and funds are needed.
“Thank you to the IGA and everyone who supported us.”
The groups were selected by a group of staff members this year, but Mr Ford said he would like to see customers further involved moving forward.
“In future we would like to move towards our customer base selecting the groups, but we didn’t have time this year so we relied on the knowledge of our staff to select participating groups,” he said.
