The last piece of the puzzle was put in place on Wednesday night, November 23, with a generous $65,000 donation from the Pambula Community Bank. 

CCASE president Lynne Koerbin said this donation meant they had reached their goal of $450,000, which the federal government will match, for a total of $900,000 to the project. 

“We now have enough money in the bank to start building, everything is ready for us to turn the first sod on Thursday, December 8,” Ms Koerbin said. 

“It was contributions like this that have made all the difference, this money came at a critical point in the grant funding process.”

Once the sod has been turned, site clearing will get underway and construction will start, with the first stage of the building to be completed by the end of 2017. 

Stage one of the carers accommodation facility will include six motel-style rooms with en suite facilities and a large communal lounge room.

This affordable accommodation will allow relatives and carers private rooms and services while they spend time with long or short term patients within the SERH, preventing patients from feeling isolated from those close to them at vulnerable times.

Ms Koerbin said she was so thankful for the amount of support the community carers accommodation project has received from the community over the past four years. 

“What’s really staggered me again and again is the generousity from the community, not just corporate sponsorship like this from the Pambula Community Bank but also from people on the street who have stopped me to ask what they can to do help,” she said. 

Colin Dunn, treasurer of Pambula and District Community Development limited, said their $65,000 donation couldn’t have gone to a better cause. 

“This is one of the most important causes you could possibly have for the local community,” Mr Dunn said. 

The carers accommodation is expected to house people from as far away as Batemans Bay in the north and Mallacoota to the south.

While stage one of the project is being built the Carers Accommodation will continue fundraising for stage two. 

“We are really working towards stage two,” Ms Koerbin said. 

“This will mean 12 rooms and a common kitchen space, allowing families to cook their own meals.”

The donation from the Pambula Community Bank came as part of an obligation in the franchisee agreement to return 80 per cent of the bank’s net profits back into the community. 

The $65,000 donation to the Carers Accommodation is the largest single donation the bank has ever made. 

“This project will benefit the whole community,” Mr Dunn said.