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Alongside our commitment to local sport, The Mutual Bank has partnered with high profile professional rugby league players Hannah and Jesse Southwell. The Southwell sisters, born and raised in the Hunter, who played their junior rugby league with the Kotara Bears, are both contracted to the Newcastle Knights for the next five years. Hannah is a NSW and Australian rugby league representative and has also represented Australia in rugby sevens as well as playing elite-level soccer. Jesse collected a Commonwealth Games gold medal in rugby sevens before switching codes to rugby league and was named the NRLW Rookie of the Year in 2022. Chief Member Officer Matthew Dunnill said the partnership with the Southwell siblings is in addition to our earlier announcement of a partnership with Newcastle Knights player Sheridan Gallagher and aims to contribute to the momentum of raising the profile of women’s sport. “The Hunter really got behind The Matilda’s during their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign and that was tremendous to see,” he said. “Women’s rugby league is an emerging sport with increasing participation and profile, and the back-to back premiership wins by the Newcastle Knights Women has certainly lifted the profile even more.” The Mutual Bank will run a campaign featuring some of the homegrown talent that we support, from grassroots clubs to stars, in sports from netball to triathlon and various codes of football. As a member-owned bank, our profits don’t go into the pockets of shareholders, but rather are invested back into better products and services and sponsorship of community organisations and initiatives. “We are excited to be supporting through sponsorship, the Maitland Pickers Rugby League Club’s first women’s team in the Newcastle Rugby league competition,” said Matthew. “That’s alongside our long-standing sponsorship of Maitland and District Netball Association and sponsorship of Maitland Touch Football Association, Maitland Triathlon Club and Maitland Football Club.” Keep an eye on our social media channels to see more of Hannah, Jesse and Sheridan along with the local community organisations backed by The Mutual Bank.

The Mutual Bank’s Annual Christmas Appeal has been a wonderful event for our team and Members in the last few years, brightening local families’ lives at what can be a tough time of year for some. This year, we are partnering with the Susan Roskell Toy and Gift Drive to help make even more of a difference. The Susan Roskell Toy and Gift Drive is a community initiative established with the goal of providing gifts and toys to children, and their parents and carers, who have been impacted by the effects of domestic and family violence, homelessness, illness and injury. The Mutual Bank’s Chief Member Officer Matthew Dunnill said becoming a Platinum Sponsor of the well-established and respected appeal was an easy decision for the member-owned and community focused bank. “The Susan Roskell Toy and Gift Drive supports grassroots charities and community organisations, helping them to meet the growing needs of families seeking assistance at what can be a really challenging time of year,” Matthew said. “Each year the donations have steadily increased with thousands of toys going to families in need.” Todd Sheldon from Bolwarra Heights, who is also the 2022 Maitland Citizen of the Year, organises the annual event which is now in its eighth year. It all started in 2016, when a request from Maitland’s Reading Cinema to support struggling families during the festive season saw Todd, his wife Penny, and their son Lachlan, donating wrapped gifts to a Wishing Tree and from this, the idea of an annual toy drive was born. “It is heartening to see that with every year, the support from the community and small businesses has grown which enables us to support the ever-increasing number of families that are seeking support and assistance,” said Todd. “We changed the name in 2022 to honour our mum and nanny who passed away during our 2021 campaign. Mum was a catalyst for starting this and will be forever loved and missed.” As well as The Mutual Bank branches being a collection point for the gifts, the bank’s team will also volunteer over two days to help sort the donations at their Head Office in Green Hills for distribution to the charities. Community members can drop unwrapped, new toys and presents and gift vouchers into one of the large boxes at each of our seven branches – Dungog, East Maitland, Edgeworth, Maitland, Mayfield, Raymond Terrace and Rutherford.