Time to try for 'Good in the Hood' programme again

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Z Energy (Z) is calling on Gisborne charities and community groups to get in quick and apply to its Good in the Hood programme, for the potential to receive a share of the $5000 Z has allocated towards Gisborne community donations this year. Gisborne’s share comes from $1 million Z is donating across New Zealand.

As part of Good in the Hood, each Z service station chooses four community groups to participate, with $4000 distributed among those groups based on community voting. Customers who shop in store are provided an orange token to pop in one of four boxes, voting for their favourite local group. The money is split between the four groups based on the number of votes each receives. A further $1000 for each service station is earmarked to support community events and initiatives throughout the year.

Gisborne Z Energy retailer Hamish Waddington says: “We’ve had a difficult year, and have seen so many inspiring groups pitching in. But those who are helping out also need a helping hand themselves. We look forward to working with the community to support some of those groups who have given so much of their time and effort.”

“We’re proud this comes on top of the $140,000 Z has already donated to regions hit by this year’s cyclones and floods.”

This year, Z will reach a significant $10 million milestone in contributions to community groups, helping hundreds throughout Aotearoa since 2011. This has largely been achieved through Z’s annual Good in the Hood programme.

Z general manager, customer, Andy Baird, says that Good in the Hood empowers Kiwis to engage with initiatives in their communities and choose where additional support goes in their town.

“The spirit of Good in the Hood is to share Z’s community support with the people living in those communities — to give people a choice about where the money goes.”

Extra focus will this year be given to regions hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle, bolstering its community support provided earlier in the year.

“We’ve already given more than $140,000 to cyclone- and flood-affected communities so far this year, with $70,000 going to the Northland/Auckland flooding, $50,000 to small community groups affected by Cyclone Gabrielle around the Northland, Tairāwhiti Gisborne, and Hawke’s Bay regions, plus donations to the Red Cross and Bike for Blokes,” Mr Baird  said.

“It’s immensely satisfying to be able to confirm another million dollars in support across the country, including providing additional funding for Z stations in some of the harder-hit communities.”

Community groups are encouraged to apply for the 2023 round of Good in the Hood funding as soon as possible, with applications closing on July 31 before the in-store voting period in September.

“Z and its retailers care deeply about our communities, and for us Good in the Hood is a reinforcement of our pledge that Z is for New Zealand. Focusing on smaller community groups gives us the opportunity to support groups which may find it more difficult to access funds compared to larger charities or groups who have existing relationships with donors.

“For anyone who has considered making an application for funding in the past, now is the time to get your application in.”

Good in the Hood was initially created in response to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and Z ran several similar community giving programmes before Good in the Hood officially began in 2013.

“We looked at ways to best support the Christchurch community in the wake of the disaster and decided to leverage the knowledge of our local retailers and their communities to ensure funds were going where they were needed,” Mr Baird said.