A further donation of $40,000 to The Family Centre from Butterfield Bank has brought the total amount of money given to the centre from the bank since 2003 to more than $189,000.

The money will be used to assist with the centre's triage counselling service. Ms Dismont said the counselling service is an extension of the critical counselling services that the bank first started supporting three years ago. Ms Dismont said: "We recognise the substantial investment that Butterfield Bank has made over the past year and are tremendously appreciative of their continued support, not only of our programmes but also of our events and the Cap-a-Laige Charities House project."

In addition to its donations, the bank also has a Butterfield Bank Employee Trust (funded by employee contributions which are matched by the bank) which made donations of $4,100 and $5,000 to The Family Centre in 2004 and 2003.

"Each week, The Family Centre receives a host of referrals for families in varying states of crisis," said Ms Dismont. "In the past, we had challenges determining which of those families to serve and which to refer. We have been providing a triage service, or short-term stabilisation, that allows us to better determine the needs of those families."

She said several significant advancements had been achieved as a result of this counselling service, including an ability to greatly increase the number of families that it services per year, the elimination of a waiting list, early identification for families who require the intervention of the Department of Child and Family Services and maximised use of other services that exist in the community.

Don Mackenzie, chairman of The Family Centre Board said: "It is with partnerships like that of Butterfield Bank that we are able to continue this very vital work in the community."