As a community bank, we value community success. We are interested to know what drives your businesses and how they shape the community we are a part of.
We don’t horse around with this kind of stuff! But a local organisation whose foundation literally is in support of horses trotting around the arena, is Samford’s own Riding for the Disabled (RDA).
Samford Riding for the Disabled is a voluntary community organisation that gives people with disabilities the opportunity to be a part of equestrian-based horse riding programs.
RDA is one of thirteen local businesses that received Bendigo bank’s community funding in 2017.
With at least nine horses to feed, seventy-five to eighty riders to entertain per year and a Saturday waitlist that stretches four years in advance, it is easy to understand RDA’s saddled position and hence their gratitude for Bendigo’s sponsorship.
But when you hear about all the ways in which RDA have benefited people with disabilities, you can see why Bendigo bank was so enthusiastic about assisting to make this not-for-profit financially stable.
RDA’s secretary Jane Marsh spoke on what it means to have the support of the community bank and how a little really does go a long way.
“We are so reliant on community support, so it means a great deal,” Marsh said.
“Every bit of money that we can get goes towards not only caring for the horses and the grounds but, it goes towards trying to expand the program somehow.
“To have a local bank support us gives us a great sense of belonging to the community and contributes to [the] community feel, which we can’t really function without,” she said.
Chairman of the parent company of the Samford Community Bank Branch and Patron of Samford RDA, Bob Millar spoke on how he won’t bail when it comes to supporting local organisations like RDA, and why the support of such a community bank is so fundamental to the community.
“I have a great admiration for the volunteers that run Riding for the Disabled. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than seeing the smiles on the faces of the young kids,” Millar said.
“From a personal perspective, the involvement with the bank as a director was an opportunity to continue to play a role in re-investing in the community.
“The community feels that it has ownership, it feels that is has a connection, it feels that every time we make a grant to a community group that, the community is a part of that process,” he said.
If you too have unbridled enthusiasm for supporting Samford Riding for the Disabled, visit their website at www.samfordrda.com.au
