By Michael Doran
Residents of AdventCare Yarra View Nursing Home in Warburton will be easily spotted now they are riding in a shiny new bus.
The bus was made possible by a donation from Upper Yarra Community Enterprise, the owners of the Warburton and Yarra Junction Community Banks.
AdventCare CEO David Reece said that the relationship with the bank was an important part of their facility in Warburton. “The bank was part of saving this facility back in 2016 and have continued their support ever since,” he said.
“Having the new bus will enhance the lives of our residents and we are extremely grateful for the role the bank has played in facilitating that.”
Coleen Hilbert, the centre’s facility manager said that the bus will make a huge difference to the more than 50 residents who will use it.
“The new bus means we can plan out trips in advance and also just take people out on a nice sunny day,” she said. “If some of the residents want to go out for a bit of shopping or morning tea we can do that.”
“We didn’t have this much flexibility before about where and when people could go out so for the bank to donate this is a big plus for us.”
The bus seats 12 and can be driven with a standard drivers licence, meaning it adds more flexibility and mobility to the centre, great news for activities coordinator, Antoinette Bretler, who organises the residents outings.
Upper Yarra Community Enterprise Chair, Rod McKail said, “We are very proud of the work we do in the community and adding to the lives of the residents here in Warburton is part of our values.”
“Our community bank model is based around using our profits to support projects like this new bus,” he said. “This is exactly the type of thing we want to do more of, but to do that we need to grow our business and add customers.”
“So far we have given back over $4 million in sponsorships and donations under our profit-for-purpose business model.”
