In-person donations to Southland Charity Hospital now available nationwide, thanks to SBS Bank

The Southland Charity Hospital has partnered with SBS Bank to ensure everybody can get behind its wildly successful ‘Buy A Brick’ fundraising campaign.

Media and communications manager Alana Dixon-Calder says the Southland Charity Hospital team is thrilled to have the support of the Invercargill-based bank.

“The public response to our Buy A Brick campaign has been off-the-charts. The whole team has been blown away by the number of people who have wanted to get involved and support our cause. We wanted to make sure that everybody who was keen to get behind the hospital was able to do so. To have SBS come on board and offer a place for people to make in-person donations is huge for us,” she says.

“We say the hospital is by the community, for the community, and our Buy A Brick campaign has been the epitome of that. People have really responded to the idea of being part of a lasting tribute to the community support that has turned the charity hospital from an idea to a reality,” Ms Dixon-Calder says.

SBS Bank chief executive Shaun Drylie said his team was delighted to be able to provide the community with a way to donate and help make a difference.

“We’ve made it possible for anyone to visit an SBS branch around the country to donate via cash or cheque directly to the campaign. And we haven’t limited it just to our Invercargill, Windsor and Gore branches – if there are Southlanders living in the likes of Tauranga, Christchurch, Hamilton or wherever one of our branches is, then they’re able to show their support.

“This is an ongoing commitment for SBS Bank and something we’ll offer long-term – if people want to make a donation in person then we’ll be able to make it happen.”

The charity hospital began selling supporter’s bricks in exchange for donations in July. These can be engraved with a personal message, and will form the path from the hospital’s carpark to its doors. Supporters can alternatively purchase granite commemorative plaques. These will be placed on-site in a memorial garden dedicated to cancer care advocate, the late Blair Vining. The charity hospital’s first-ever Buy A Brick Day, which encouraged schools and businesses around the country to don red, white and black to raise funds to buy the supporter’s bricks, was held on Friday. Its initial goal of reaching $1 million was met on the day.

So far the Buy A Brick campaign has sold more than 7000 and 280 commemorative plaques. Sales have come from far-flung places including Norway and the United States, as well as throughout Australia and New Zealand.