Supercare Pharmacy Reduced Hours

MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE Customers express concern about Supercare Pharmacy reduced hours 24 January 2024 Bendigo UFS Pharmacies customers have taken to social media to express their concern about changes to trading hours at the View Street Supercare pharmacy. The organisation recently posted on its Facebook page the change to Supercare pharmacy hours to 7am to 11pm, 7…

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Bendigo UFS backing Bendigo Foodshare’s crucial work

MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE Bendigo UFS backing Bendigo Foodhshare’s crucial work 28 August 2023 A renewed and expanded sponsorship by Bendigo UFS will ensure a crucial community program can continue for two more years.  Bendigo UFS will contribute $60,000 over two years to Bendigo Foodshare’s ‘Grow a Row, Pick a Branch’ program.  Under the program,…

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Pharmacist Intern Program – applicants closing soon

MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE Internship boost for local pharmacy students 14 August 2023 Up to four lucky pharmacy students will receive support to complete their studies and a guaranteed job as part of the Bendigo UFS 2024 Intern Program.  The successful applicant will receive ongoing professional development and training at Bendigo UFS, as well as…

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Bendigo UFS celebrates 150 years

MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE Community pharmacy celebrates 150 years 8 August 2023 CEO Lois O’Callaghan announced this week Bendigo UFS Pharmacies was celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2023 with events and promotions over the next few months.  Bendigo UFS was founded in 1872 on the principles of early lodges, foundations and friendly societies by men…

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Supporting community through changes to prescriptions

MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE Supporting community through changes to prescriptions 22 June 2023 Bendigo UFS has committed to supporting its members and the broader community as changes are made to how some medications are dispensed.  The Federal government announced in its May budget that it intends to allow patients to be prescribed 60 days’ worth…

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new CEO

MEDIA RELEASE MEDIA RELEASE  New CEO appointed to UFS Pharmacies Thursday 13 October 2022 UFS Pharmacies, is excited to announce the appointment of Lois O’Callaghan as CEO of the group. Lois comes to UFS Pharmacies with an extensive variety of experience in various health care and local government settings, most recently as CEO of Mallee…

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Farewell to our CEO

Announcement – CEO Resignation  Message to Members and Stakeholders From Nicole Cox, Board Chair Bendigo United Friendly Society Chair Nicole Cox said that Chief Executive Michael Fleming has announced his resignation. Nicole said that “After 17 very productive and dedicated years Michael made the decision to resign and to pursue new opportunities and the board wants…

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Reducing our plastic footprint

As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the amount of waste that people produce. Our busy lifestyles include easily disposable products, such as soft drink bottles/cans or bottles of water. We are working hard within our business to reduce our plastic footprint, we feel it is important to enable our members to make…

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In the community

Maiden Gully Fire Brigade For Maiden Gully Fire Brigade “Building a Healthier Community” also means building a safer community! Two important projects will benefit from this year’s annual payment from the UFS fund. The necessary tools to help community members who find their children accidentally locked in a car have been purchased.  The second project…

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In the community

Holy Rosary School

We would like to formally acknowledge the support that Bendigo UFS Pharmacies provide to Holy Rosary School on an annual basis in the form of your generous donation. 

Our school provides a fresh fruit program to our students on a weekly basis and the funds raised by you each year are a very welcome addition, to enable us to continue providing this healthy program to our students.

Please accept this letter as a token of our gratitude and we hope to continue our relationship with you in the years to come. 

Paul Wilkinson
Principal. 


In the community

St Kilians Primary School 100% of the funds given go directly back to our St Kilian’s School Care Team. The team is our Pastoral Care initiative to welcome and support all members of our school community. Most of the funds are put towards food vouchers of equal value to help when babies arrive, there is…

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In the community – Maiden Gully Fire Brigade

“The Building a Healthier Community Program helps us to create a Safer Community,” says Maiden Gully Fire Brigade Captain, David Mustey. “The very significant contribution that this Program provides us annually is being used to purchase new equipment such as tablets in our big Tanker and in the Pumper. This exciting innovation will give us…

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Vision Australia Easter egg hunt

This year we were excited to be proud sponsors of the Vision Australia easter egg hunt that happened Good Friday. All proceeds went to Vision Australia, a not-for-profit organisation. The Easter egg hunt is one of Vision Australia’s largest individual fundraising events nationally. It’s run by volunteers, with all proceeds going towards Vision Australia’s services to the blind…

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Announcement – UFS Bridge St

UFS Pharmacies are pleased to announce the purchase of the Bendigo Day and Night Pharmacy from Life Pharmacy in New South Wales which occurred on the 15th April 2019.

The pharmacy located at 40 Bridge Street becomes the fifth pharmacy in our network and offers customers and members another location to receive their health advice and service.  UFS Pharmacies is a local not for profit, community owned organisation that has operated through out the Bendigo area since 1872.

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A new look for our Hargreaves St pharmacy

UFS Pharmacies would like to thank their members and regular customers for their support during the recent renovations at Hargreaves Street. The wait was worth it! After many months of hard work and organisation during our recent renovations we are confident our new look pharmacy will meet the health needs of our members. The new…

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The Bendigo SES are very grateful for their donation.

The Bendigo SES have allocated the funds to two important purchases for their unit. “One is a fridge to keep near our truck bay which will be kept stocked with water and electrolyte replacement drinks so that our crews can quickly load up our vehicles and maintain their hydration on hot and drawn out calls…

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The OTIS Foundation

The OTIS Foundation was established more than 15 years ago in Bendigo to support women dealing with the challenges of breast cancer and their families by providing access to retreat accommodation at no cost. This unique gift aims to reduce the psychological impact of the disease by allowing guests to relax, reconnect and create special…

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Building a Healthier Community 2017/18

UFS Pharmacies has a proud history of involvement in the Bendigo community for over 145 years as a not-for-profit membership organisation. UFS Pharmacies in Bendigo originated from a community need and involved people pooling their resources through membership to provide a local service. That model has stood the test of time and has evolved further with our Building a…

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UFS in the community

UFS Pharmacies has a proud history of involvement in the Bendigo community for over 144 years as a not-for-profit membership organisation. UFS Pharmacies in Bendigo originated from a community need and involved people pooling their resources through membership to provide a local service. That model has stood the test of time and has evolved further…

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UFS in the community: Healthy food for those in need

Food poverty is a reality for about 1 in 9 people in Central Victoria. These are the people that we at Bendigo Foodshare seek to help each week. Mostly staffed by volunteers, each week we will source and distribute food donations to 14,000 people in need of a meal. Partnered with over 100 schools, charities…

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UFS in the community: A gift of love

Jemima’s Gift Inc is an official registered, not for profit, pro-life animal rescue group based in Bendigo. Our organisation named after Jemima, a beautiful mother cat who came to us from a country pound after living in a gutter raising litter after litter of kittens. She also helped mother several orphan kittens. If her carer…

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Helping communities shine

With school starting this week it is an ideal time to replenish your sunscreen and at the same time help a worthwhile community group with help from Bendigo’s four UFS Pharmacies. One dollar from the sale of Pharmacy Choice SPF 50+ sunscreen one litre pump pack or 200ml spray bottle will go directly to the…

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UFS in the Community: Valkyrie Care Group

Providing support for those touched by cancer On behalf of Valkyrie Care Group Inc. I, as Co-ordinator, wish to thank the UFS Pharmacies’ members for the opportunity to be part of the Building a Healthier Community Program. We were thrilled to receive your donation, as every time we make any amount of money in partnership…

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Member Rewards Nights 2016

You’re invited!

Join us for some light refreshments and a night of shopping at our VIP Member Rewards Nights! Two great nights at two great locations – plus ones welcome! For dates, times and RSVP information, download the invitation below:

Download Invitation (1.7MB)


UFS in the Community: Bendigo Autism Asperger Group

BAAG is a local support group run by volunteers for those interested in and affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders. Membership to BAAG is free. We have been functioning for around 20 years in Bendigo (originally as the Bendigo Autism Family Support Group). BAAG meet regularly for informal morning tea and evening coffee events and for…

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Help your organisation shine!

$1* from the purchase of of Pharmacy Choice SPF 50+ sunscreen lotion (1L) and spray (200mL) will be donated to local schools, clubs and organisations, and we want your group to reap the rewards!

To help promote this campaign with your members and friends, you can download a flyer to place in your newsletter or to print out and share.

Download Flyer (394KB)


Facebook Mother’s Day competition winner!

Congratulations to the winner of our Facebook Mother’s Day competition winner, Michelle Cummins.

Michelle has a $200 Eden voucher to spend at our salon in Hargreaves St.

 


Building a Healthier Community – Cheque Presentation 2016

Thank you to all of our members! We at UFS would like to thank our members for their continued generosity – thanks to you, we’ve donated over $60,000 (plus $10,000 in minor donations and community sponsorships) to local schools, clubs and organisations through our Building a Healthier Community program. To take a look at the…

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UFS in the Community: Bendigo Animal Welfare & Community Services

Caring with compassion Bendigo Animal Welfare & Community Services and UFS Pharmacies   Bendigo Animal Welfare & Community Services (BAWCS) recently opened their Shelter doors to invite supporters who had participated in their Buy A Brick program to view their bricks. Funds raised from brick purchases helped to build the new shelter and visitors were…

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Congratulations to our competition winners!

Our congratulations to all four of the winners from our Weekly $1000 competition, we hope the extra cash made the holidays even more special for you!

Our winners were:
Week 1 – Wendy Thacker of Maiden Gully
Week 2 – Catherine Farley of Strathfieldsaye
Week 3 – Elenore Phillips of Maiden Gully
Week 4 – Jill Clapham of Strathfieldsaye

Our congratulations also go to to Ms Shayne Scilini of Strathfieldsaye, the winner of our recent ‘Like to Win’ competition.

Keep an eye out for more member competitions and giveaways this year!


UFS in the Community – Partnering to save lives

The Bendigo Unit of the State Emergency Service is a volunteer based emergency service. Its 50 volunteers provide an emergency response to events including storm, flood, earthquake and road crash rescue. The unit is very active within the greater Bendigo community – the 2014-2015 financial year saw us called to 375 requests for assistance, 54…

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Michael Fleming

Chief Executive Officer


Pam Williams

Buying Coordinator


Bronwyn Capewell

Hargreaves Street Pharmacy Manager

Cristina Mazzarino

Strathfieldsaye Pharmacy Manager


David Tadross

Maiden Gully Pharmacy Manager


Chris Moyle

Optical Manager


Liana Frankling

Eden Beauty Manager



Nicole Cox

Deputy Chair


Geoff Cook

Director





Community Partnerships

The community groups that you can donate half of your membership to, thanks to the Building a Healthier Community Program currently include: [bs_row class=”row”][bs_col class=”col-sm-6″] Atisha Buddhist Centre  Bears Lagoon Serpentine Football & Netball Club Bendigo & District Concert Band Bendigo Amateur Radio & Electronics Club Inc. Bendigo Animal Welfare & Community Services Bendigo Association…

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About us

We are a 140 year old not-for-profit membership organisation, delivering a wide range of pharmacy and health related products and services to over 11,000 household members throughout the Greater Bendigo Region.

The group consists of four pharmacies, an Optical Store, a Day Spa and a Wellness Clinic which offer our members a wide of range of benefits including discounts on products, access to health professionals, subsidized services, modern, contemporary and convenient retail facilities.

The organisation contributes to the local community through its Building a Healthier Community Program which now distributes over $60,000 per year to groups and organisations of all shapes and sizes.  The program is an essential part of the organisation’s ethos as a not for profit local institution.


Week 1 winner – Coral Symons!

Congratulations to Mrs. Coral Symons, the winner of the Natio gift pack in the 2014 Members Christmas Draw! To enter, UFS members simply spend $30 at our below stores for your chance to WIN* [bs_row class=”row”][bs_col class=”col-sm-6″] WEEK 2: UFS OPTICAL VOUCHER & ASSORTED GIFT BASKET $250 VALUE (Drawn 19/11) Spend $30 for your chance to…

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UFS Members Christmas draw 2014

UFS Members, simply spend $30 at our below stores for your chance to WIN* Major Prize – Bendigo Travel and Cruise Centre $2500 TRAVEL VOUCHER This year, we’re giving our members even more chances to win simply by shopping at UFS. [bs_row class=”row”][bs_col class=”col-sm-6″] WEEK 1: NATIO GIFT BASKET $150 VALUE (Drawn 12/11) Spend $30 for…

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Exclusive shopping nights for UFS for Members

Please join us for some light refreshments and a night of shopping! Enjoy exclusive members-only prices as well as some fantastic special offers and the chance to win big in the UFS Pharmacies Members Christmas Draw. Additional member discounts Members Christmas Draw (Get 3 extra entries if you spend $30 on a shopping night!) Free…

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Thank you from State Emergency Services

In 2013, 175 UFS members selected the State Emergency Services (SES) – Bendigo Unit from our list of organisations.

State Emergency Services (SES) coordinate emergency preparation and response for flood, storm, tsunami and earthquake. Bendigo SES is also the provider of road crash rescue services for the Greater Bendigo area, as well as assisting other agencies such as Vic Police, CFA and Ambulance Victoria with search and rescue, casualty retrieval and industrial rescue.


UFS Members help Maiden Gully Fire Brigade Support Vehicle

Over the past two years, the UFS Building a Healthier Community Program funds have been largely directed by the Maiden Gully Fire Brigade to the fitting out of our Ford Ranger Support vehicle!

This vehicle was purchased by locally raised funds and provides an operational support role which involves transporting personnel and equipment to incidents, training, community events and fundraising activities. The fit out involved sign writing and reflective striping, installation of radios and warning devices with the last major part of this work being the installation of drawers to stow equipment.

The vehicle carries a generator and floodlights that can be deployed to any incident in Maiden Gully and across Bendigo.

Thank you UFS Pharmacies – Andrew, Maiden Gully Fire Brigade


Building a Healthier Community – St. Luke’s Anglicare

St Luke’s Anglicare works with people who are experiencing challenges, to reconnect them to their community, so they can live positive and meaningful lives.


School lunch box ideas!

Kids lunch boxes are the perfect opportunity to give your little ones a great head start in life. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, proteins and healthy fats can all be included in some easy and delicious recipes. Giving your children a healthy lunch box allows them to function to their best capabilities throughout the school day….

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Local organisations say thanks to UFS Pharmacies

Quest Equine Welfare Inc. sent their thanks from Traynors Lagoon. UFS members who donated their membership funds to Quest Equine Welfare Inc. help them to meet the costs associated with the rehabilitation and ongoing care of horses, ponies and donkeys surrendered into Quest’s care.


Maiden Gully primary school gets a healthy makeover

Bendigo UFS Pharmacies’ Building a Healthier Community Program is again a success as Maiden Gully Primary students have a new motivation outdoors to live healthy, active lifestyles. In 2013, Maiden Gully Primary School received a $2611 donation from the BUFS Building a Healthier Community Program. They put their donation towards a new outdoor area to…

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Building a healthier community cheque presentation 2013

UFS Members  top $47,000 in contributions for 2013   UFS Pharmacies Bendigo contributed over $47,000 to local not for profit organisations as part of its established Building a Healthier Community Initiative. The program has been running for eight years and in that time has contributed over $250,000 to local sporting groups, charities, schools, community programs and…

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Building a healthier community cheque presentation 2012

Annual donations presented to local organisations. UFS Pharmacies made a big start to their 140-year celebrations by distributing over $50,000 to a number of local charities and organisations. The Building a Healthier Community program has generated over $200,000 during the past ten years and over 50 groups have benefited from the membership fee disbursement. UFS Pharmacies members…

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We had a makeover!

Mr Michael Fleming CEO of local pharmacy group, Bendigo UFS announced today that they would be launching a total new image for the UFS brand. The reason behind this was to reinvent the highly successful Bendigo UFS into a more contemporary and highly visual brand. Mr Fleming said “The brand has been very successful for…

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