LAST Tuesday, Marks Supa IGA store mangers Stephen and Greg Marks hosted the 22nd year of the points rewards initiative and reached a milestone total of $527,016 which has been donated to local schools, clubs and services.

There were 30 people in attendance with 18 recipients who received awards divided from a total of $27,747.

The business was extremely proud to donate half a million through their loyal customer rewards points scheme.

“Thank you to our customers who are the pivotal driving force behind this,” Stephen Marks said.

“We’re very appreciative of what they do for the Mansfield and district community.”

The largest donation went to the Mansfield District Hospital with approximately $7,781.

“The local hospital punches well above its weight so to contribute some funding towards them maintaining that standard is very rewarding,” he said.

“Both me and Greg were born and bred here, so it’s pretty rewarding to be able to give back to the local hospital via our customers.”

The funds will be used to purchase patient equipment as they have done in previous years said Mansfield District Hospital chief executive officer Cameron Butler .

“These donations are very important for us,” he said.

“The funding we receive from government is used to pay for operating costs and there is very little left to purchase equipment.

“We rely on these donations to help us to have modern and up-to-date equipment and thus provide safe healthcare.

“ They also reinforce the support we have from the community, which is something we cannot take for granted particularly now," said Mr Cameron.

Mansfield Primary School also received $1642.

The funds will go into the school’s Currency of Kindness Program said acting principal Nicole Salmon.

“This is a program that supports our students and families directly and will support the payment of camps, excursions, incursions, and interschool sporting events,” Ms Salmon said.

“With these funds we will purchase specialist equipment for our sensory room and our outdoor education program ‘School 2 Summits’ with bikes and ski gear.

“We will be able to provide students with the opportunity to join our winter ski program when they otherwise couldn’t.

“This rewards money is so important to MPS because it allows us to support families directly and make sure that no child misses out," she said.

St Mary’s Primary School received $291.

This year the funds received will be allocated towards acquiring decodable readers in line with the 'Science of Reading-based Vision for Instruction' introduced by Catholic Education throughout Victoria, principal Trish Etcell said.

“The contribution from Marks IGA enables us to secure an additional 40 decodable readers beyond our current purchases,” she said.

“We express our gratitude to IGA and Greg Marks for their generous support of our school and the wider community.

“Each year, we benefit from contributions through the IGA rewards program, which play a vital role in enhancing our educational resources for the children," said Ms Etcell.