Bendigo Bank cooks up $140,000 to support sick kids
When it comes to whipping up a culinary storm and raising money for seriously ill children and their families, Bendigo Bank staff have the temperature set to full blast.
Thousands of staff across the Bank's network nation-wide have gone head to head in the Bendigo Bank Community Cooking Challenge for Starlight, raising more than $140,000 for Starlight Children's Foundation.
Following a Bendigo Bank supported cooking challenge episode of MasterChef Australia in June, staff from about 200 Bendigo Bank branches and hundreds of head office staff across Australia hosted barbecues, morning teas, lunches and community cooking challenges to raise funds for seriously ill children.
Bendigo Bank's Head of Marketing and Communications, John Marshall, said the scale of this fundraising activity was unprecedented for the Bank.
"Our Bank set out to fundraise for Starlight Children's Foundation, to encourage local communities to show their support for seriously ill children and their families, all while having some fun as a staff community," Mr Marshall said.
"What we've gained was so much bigger than that.
"The money raised will help Starlight continue to brighten the lives of seriously ill children and their families, by replacing pain, fear and stress with fun, joy and laughter.
"We knew when we threw down the challenge to staff we'd get a great response. But what we achieved for Starlight children and their families thanks to community support is so much bigger than we could have ever expected.
"It's about thousands of our people and the communities they operate in working as one team to support one single, important cause."
Starlight CEO Louise Baxter said she was thankful for Bendigo Bank's generous support, as it will help Starlight continue to lift the spirits of seriously ill children when they need it most.
"We knew that in partnering with Bendigo Bank, there would be considerable effort by staff and communities to support our cause, but raising more than $140,000 for Starlight programs is such a fantastic outcome!" Ms Baxter said.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's vision is to be Australia's most customer connected bank. Our Bank is bigger in more ways than one. To find out more, visit www.bendigoadelaide.com.au.
The breakdown of fundraising per state is as follows;
| Victoria | More than $49,000 was raised across 43 branch events plus three events in the Bendigo, Geelong and Melbourne corporate offices. |
|---|---|
| Western Australia | More than $30,000 was raised across 41 branch events plus one event in the Perth corporate office. |
| Queensland | More than $24,000 was raised across 55 branch events. |
| New South Wales/ACT | More than $23,000 was raised across 31 branch events plus one event in the Sydney corporate office. |
| South Australia/Northern Territory | More than $10,000 was raised across 20 branch events, plus one held in the Adelaide corporate office. |
| Tasmania | More than $4,000 was raised across four events. |
