NORM Mann from Bathurst Panthers described it as one of the "feel-good days of the year".
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And Bathurst RSL Club president Ian Miller described it as one of each year's highlights.
The occasion was the annual presentation of Bathurst RSL and Bathurst Panthers' Club Grants funding to local community groups and organisations and it was held at the RSL last Thursday morning.
Mr Miller said $172,000 was requested this year by local groups and, even though that full amount could not be provided (in part because the two clubs were closed for a number of weeks during the last financial year due to COVID restrictions), $95,000 was being handed out "and I think that's a pretty damn fine effort".
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"This is what clubs do," he said of the Club Grants donations. "This is what clubs do within the community - and that is support the community.
"Both Panthers and the RSL work very hard to make sure that we put money back into the community."
Mr Mann explained the process behind the selection of the successful applicants.
A combined committee made up of the RSL, Bathurst Panthers, representatives of Bathurst Regional Council and various social organisations meets and goes through the list of applications, he said.
He said the committee decides on a priority for the various applications in terms of how urgently the money is needed and the committee then gathers again, some time later, "and we decide what we're going to fund and how much we're going to fund".
Mr Miller apologised to those groups that were unsuccessful with this lot of Club Grants and encouraged them to apply again in the future.
Cr Kirralee Burke, representing mayor Robert Taylor at the Club Grants presentation, said the not-for-profit groups gathered at the Bathurst RSL "are continually fighting the good fight to ensure we move into our future in a more equitable and fair way and that our disadvantaged have a voice".
"So thank you to you all, specifically for your contribution to our community. It's truly invaluable and it's really admirable," she said.
The recipients were Bathurst Community Transport; Bathurst Early Childhood Intervention Service; Miracle Babies Foundation; Lifeline Central West; Solve-TAD; Hope Care Bathurst; Western Region Academy of Sport; Veritas House (on behalf of Bathurst Young Mob); Veritas House; Communication and Resources Project; The Shepherd Centre; Bathurst Seymour Centre; Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council; Defence Bank Foundation; St Vincent De Paul Society; Boys To The Bush; and New Horizons Enterprises.
Club Grants are funded from a percentage of clubs' gaming machine revenue.
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