Zauner Construction supports Lifeline Albury Wodonga training program

It was a presentation by Albury-Wodonga Lifeline to the Albury company in 2019 that prompted the idea to help fund training for more crisis support workers.

Zauner's chief financial officer Janet Waite, who also volunteers with the 24-hour local crisis support service, said the response by employees to the Workplace Giving for Lifeline project had been overwhelming.

She said the construction industry was over-represented in suicide statistics so the fundraiser was "particularly pertinent".

Research shows workers in construction are at a higher risk of experiencing mental health problems and men in construction are more than two times more likely to suicide than their counterparts in other occupations.

Ms Waite said businesses more broadly were starting to really understand the importance of safeguarding the health and wellbeing of their workers.

She said part of the appeal of raising money for Lifeline Albury-Wodonga was that 100 per cent of funds raised went directly to the training of local volunteers.

"Lifeline is a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week service that is available to everyone and whose mission is suicide prevention," she said.

"It is vital we have local people trained with the skills they need to be able answer the calls of people in crisis, but also that this knowledge stays in the local community."

To date Zauner's workplace giving has raised more than $14,000, which has already funded training for 31 extra crisis support workers for the local Lifeline centre.

The scheme sees employees make a regular donation to Lifeline through the payroll system, which is then matched dollar for dollar by the company.

Ms Waite said the workplace give had been so thoroughly embraced it was offered through Zauner's employee induction process.

"There is no pressure to sign up but it forms part of that ethos to give back to the community - and full credit to Garry (Zauner) for this commitment.

"If a lot of us each give a little, you can achieve big things."

Lifeline Albury-Wodonga crisis support manager Stacy Read said the funds had been instrumental in ensuring more crisis support workers were there for people when they most needed it.

"The training means when someone is not travelling well, our volunteers have the skills to support that person on the other end of the line."