The money was donated during the Bay of Plenty Times’ six-week Christmas Appeal which is now in its second week. The annual six-week appeal kicked off on November 9, supported by The Hits Bay of Plenty 95.0FM.
The donation is part of a record $194,000 that Craigs and its employees will donate to charities throughout New Zealand this Christmas, marking a significant milestone for their Workplace Giving initiative. Now in its sixth year, Craigs Workplace Giving has collectively donated $944,000 to charities nationwide.
More than $50,000 will be donated to Bay of Plenty community organisations serving areas of poverty, homelessness, mental health and youth and social support services.
Nearly 300 Craigs employees participated in the Workplace Giving initiative, where staff donations are matched, up to $500 per employee.
Craigs Investment Partners CEO Simon Tong. Photo / Supplied
Chief executive Simon Tong said last year 88 charities were supported collectively during a difficult economic environment.
“We saw first-hand the impact our contributions were having,” Tong said in a statement.
“It’s rewarding to see the collective efforts of employees and the business making such a positive impact on charities throughout the country.”
The $50,000 pool will be split between 17 Bay of Plenty charities: Abbeyfield Western BOP, Awhina House, Big Buddy, Eastern Bay Community Foundation, Good Neighbour, Grief Support Services, Heart Kids, Homes of Hope, Live for More, Merivale Community Centre, Mockingbird Charitable Trust, Rainbow Youth BOP, SPCA Tauranga, St Peters House, Takitimu House, Tauranga Community Foodbank, and Under the Stars.
Craigs Investment Partners Tauranga Team.
Donations are held and distributed by the Acorn Foundation, one of 18 community foundations in New Zealand of which Craigs is a founding partner.
Craigs Tauranga investment adviser Rohan Graaff said he was pleased to work with the Acorn Foundation to support organisations making a difference in challenging times.
“We are committed to supporting the communities in which we live and operate, in both a commercial and philanthropic sense,” Graaff said in a statement.
A Craigs spokesperson said when distributing Workplace Giving funds they considered charities that supported the greatest community needs with maximum impact for donated dollars and “foodbanks are a clear choice”.
They said with 2024 being an economically challenging time for many in the community, the Tauranga Community Foodbank team were there to meet the need.
Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin. Photo / Alex Cairns
Nicki Goodwin, Tauranga Community Foodbank general manager, expressed her gratitude for Craigs’ donation.
“This donation will enable us to help 60 families of four with kai for four days. It will purchase eggs, meat, fresh produce, spreads, cereal and more.
“Without the generosity of businesses like Craigs Investment Partners, families would indeed go hungry.”
Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.
