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Westpac - support of the Oxfam Australia tsunami appeal
In the first half of 2005 Westpac provided vital support to the Oxfam Australia 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami appeal.
A key aspect of this support was the arrangement of a bank account that provided a convenient way for individuals and organisations to donate to the appeal. In total more than $9 million was donated over the counter at Westpac branches and through internet banking.
Construction of Oxfam temporary housing on Sri Lanka's East Coast.
Photo: Jerry Galea/OxfamAUS.
Westpac further supported the appeal by
- an initial donation of $250,000;
- a further $315,000 donation through the Westpac Matching Gifts program, which matched donations from employees to the appeal; and
- allowing Westpac Altitude credit card customers to use their accrued Altitude rewards points, earned on Altitude MasterCard, American Express and Visa cards, to donate to the appeal. To date more than $55,000 has been raised through this channel.
Westpac's Head of Community Involvement, Samantha Brown, said there was an unprecedented response from employees and customers to the appeal. "Our involvement with Oxfam provided us with a very practical way to demonstrate our support for relief efforts. People throughout the bank got behind the appeal in many different ways, from organising fundraising events to collecting toys to processing donations. It was an inspirational team effort and customers were pleased to see Westpac making a substantial contribution to help those in need."