Community News

JANUARY 2025 - EXPANDING OUR REACH

During the 2024 year we were proud to support some new community organisations and expand our funding program into new areas.

Some of the new organisations supported include Freedom Sports Foundation, which runs a wheelchair football program for kids and TPI Victoria, which provides affordable housing and accommodation for veterans. As well as cash funding, we also provide physical goods to charities from time to time and during 2025 we were able to make some generous donations of Christmas toys, reusable bags and other items to charities such as Big Group Hug, the Caroline Chisholm Society and the Iceberg Foundation.

In all, we provided over $1.09 million in sponsorships, donations and funding to organisations in the 2024 year. That’s a big number we’re pretty proud of!

OCTOBER 2024 - SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL FOOTY

This October, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve just extended our partnership with the Essendon District Football League for another 3 years!
The new agreement ensures Strathmore Community Bank will remain as the league’s major partner until the completion of the 2027 season. We were also acknowledged by the EDFL in their own announcement in early October:

“Strathmore Community Bank has been an incredible supporter of the EDFL and our clubs since 2014,” EDFL CEO Andrew Johnston said. “The extension of our partnership for another three years shows the strong relationship that the EDFL has established with the Bank over this decade.”

The new deal includes the continued naming rights of the league as well as all three senior men’s divisions as the Bank remains an omnipresence in the EDFL community.

It’s just another way your local Community Bank is giving back and standing out.

AUGUST 2024 - ROYAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL SHOUT OUT!

At Community Bank Strathmore we’re very proud to be part of the Royal Children Hospital Bed Sponsorship program. We now sponsor 20 beds across the hospital and have been involved in the program or otherwise supported the Foundation for 16 years! We were recently featured in the Foundation’s corporate newsletter – kindly acknowledging our ongoing support and life-changing care.

Click on the image or here to take a look at the story:

The Royal Childrens Hospital Foundation – Working Together Edition 3 2024

JULY 2024 - HELPING OUR LOCAL SCHOOL STUDENTS!

We have some exciting news! We’ve just committed to a new project with senior students at Strathmore Secondary College, providing $95,000 in funding for new outdoor furniture and bike racks. The students had been looking for picnic tables, 200 bike racks, benches and other options to upgrade their existing concreate seating and, because of its growing local customer base, Strathmore Community Bank was able to help! The funds should enable the purchases to be made in the next couple of months, helping lots of local kids get that little bit more out of their education in 2024 and beyond.

It’s just another way your local Community Bank is giving back and standing out.

MARCH 2024 - VICTORIAN FLOOD APPEAL

Back in January 2024 we were very proud to be able to donate $20,000 to the Victorian Flood Appeal, helping those affected in the North-East and North-Central areas of Victoria. It’s our customers that help us make these good things happen – so thank you!

DECEMBER 2023 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We were thrilled to again host our Shareholder’s Christmas Dinner on the 1st of December 2023. Thank you to all our shareholders who attended! We were treated to a fascinating presentation from the Royal Children’s Hospital and again enjoyed the lovely hospitality of the Windy Hil function center. It was also a great opportunity to recap on our success of the 2023 year and share our new Community Impact stores with our shareholders.

The Board of Strathmore Community Services Limited wishes everyone a safe and happy Christmas and we look forward to supporting and catching up with our community partners in 2024.

OCTOBER 2023 - READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Earlier this year we shared the news of our increased sponsorship to the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. Our sponsorship of 7 scholarships has just been featured in the Spring edition of the Institute’s newsletter – “Illuminate”. We’re very proud to able to provide this level of support each year – and we couldn’t do this without our valued customers, so thankyou!

Click here to take a look at the article: Illuminate Spring Edition

JULY 2023 - SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

Community Bank, Strathmore is proud to support a number of Rotary Clubs, charities and schools in our area. We know that through these initiatives we are able to help those less fortunate including funding mental health programs, providing vital equipment to new parents and assisting families in crisis. In total, for the year ended 30 June 2023 Community Bank, Strathmore provided over $750,000 in funds to local organisations including ones like these.

Caroline Chisholm Society Facebook Cover

Banking convenience for you creates community support for all!

Having already given back over $12 million across our community, we’re looking to support even more local projects and groups with our 2023 Sponsorship Program.

If you know or are a part of a community group or organisation that could benefit from our funding program, call 9379 3042 or visit or Funding page here.

MAY 2023 - PART OF THE TEAM

Community Bank, Strathmore is proud to support over 20 sport and recreational clubs in the local area each year.

We are also the premier sponsor of the Essendon District Football League, helping promote both senior and grass roots football in our community.
We were proud to be involved in the recent EDFL ANZAC Day clash between Glenroy and West Coburg at Sewell Reserve.

Photo Credit: Mozzed Photography

Banking convenience for you creates community support for all!

Having already given back over $11 million across our community, we’re looking to support even more local projects and groups with our 2023 Sponsorship Program.

If you know or are a part of a community group or organisation that could benefit from our funding program, call 9379 3042 or visit or Funding page here.

JANUARY 2023 - MORE SUPPORT FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

We are also very proud to announce an increase in funding of our scholarship partnership with the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI). We will now provide 6 scholarships (covering both Honours and PHD students) during 2023, up from 3 Honours scholarships in previous years.

Supporting organisations such as WEHI could not be more important in light of the recent pandemic challenges. These critical collaborations between universities, hospitals and clinicians bring us closer to solving global medical issues such as immune health and cancer. We are proud to be able to lift our support and now assist a small team of medical researchers pursuing these goals.

We couldn’t do this without all our customers and community partners so thank you! Together we’re making good things happen.

Krishneel PrasadStudents in Lab for WEHI Student Profiles

JANUARY 2023 - PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE RCH FOUNDATION

Here at Community Bank, Strathmore we’re very proud to announce some new sponsorship arrangements in 2023.

We have been a regular sponsor of The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Foundation for many years and so are thrilled to have recently lifted our arrangements to a 20-bed sponsorship. That’s a bed in every ward of the hospital!

Our ongoing support, together with many others, enables patients at the RCH to receive the best in personalised medicine, provides clinicians with the latest equipment, allows researchers to invest time into vital studies and empowers teams to undertake advanced training. We are extremely pleased to be increasing our support and improving the reach of this critical community service.

OCTOBER 2022 - COMMUNITY EVENTS ARE BACK!

It’s been great to see our community sports and activities back over the 2022 winter, attended by many fans and supporters.

At Community Bank Strathmore we’re proud to be a key sponsor of the Essendon District Football League and many of our local football clubs. Congratulations to Strathmore Football Club winning the EDFL Premier Division Grand Final!

Photo credit: Jamie Morey Photography

305100652_5156191851156333_4027001460392691713_EDFL Facebook

Community Bank, Strathmore gets involved in lots of other community events too. To find out more about how we can sponsor your organisation or sporting club, take a look at our funding guidelines and application methods.

Funding Guidelines