Equipment stays in Ballarat

Every year, thousands of students walk onto a stage in Ballarat and perform in front of an audience, many of them for the first time. What they remember afterwards is the performance. What made it possible is far less glamorous and for years it arrived in a hire van.

The Royal South Street Society has been running the Ballarat Eisteddfod since 1891. Its Instrumental and Choral programs bring together more than 70 schools, along with thousands of students, teachers, conductors, volunteers and audiences from metropolitan, regional and rural areas. Every one of those performances depends on equipment nobody in the audience thinks about, and most of it used to be hired in for the season and sent back at the end of it.

Through our Community Investment program, the Society has been able to buy equipment outright. The Instrumental and Choral programs have since been delivered using the new equipment, with no hire required.

Executive Officer Judy-Ann Quilliam said "We now have a digital keyboard, amplifier and microphone that can be used across multiple disciplines for our annual eisteddfod season. This is a great help towards the long term sustainability of our events and organisation."

The difference is incredibly practical. Ongoing costs come down, the sound is reliable and the equipment can be used across multiple disciplines rather than a single event. Money that once went to hire fees stays inside the program, which helps reduce the financial barriers that keep some regional and disadvantaged schools from taking part.

None of this is our achievement. The programs, the standards, the volunteers and more than 135 years of work belong to the Royal South Street Society. Our part is the banking model behind it. When people bank with our branch, the profits generated come back to our community company, and we can invest them locally.

Find out more about the Royal South Street Society at royalsouthstreet.com.au

We're doing good things together. To find out how visit www.communitygrowshere.com.au 🌏, call our branch locally in Buninyong on (03) 5341 8066 or email 📧 buninyongmailbox@bendigoadelaide.com.au

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