New equipment for Kawerau fitness community

Kawerau residents can start the new year healthy and active thanks to a NZCT grant. Photo/Getty images

Kawerau residents can start the new year healthy and active thanks to a grant awarded to the Kawerau Fitness Community Trust.

New Zealand Community Trust recently gave $8946 to the trust to buy new health and fitness equipment to keep health and fitness affordable within the community.

The trust was started by a small group of Kawerau residents with a passion for leading a healthier and more active lifestyle.

"After our humble start of just meeting at a local field with no equipment or facility, we've built an organisation that provides exceptional service," trust chairman Zachan Herewini said.

"We are maintaining our goal of keeping things affordable while still operating 100 per cent voluntarily."

Herewini said equipment was a crucial resource for the health and fitness community provider and being used daily, over time it needed to be maintained, replaced or upgraded to suit the varying levels of fitness and age groups that attend.

"Without the support of funding partners like NZCT these costs would fall onto the participants, or the level of service would be compromised.

"Our aim has always been to keep health and fitness affordable within our community. We want to provide a great service and facility which elsewhere in other communities can be unaffordable," he said.

Herewini said NZCT's grant allowed the trust to focus on the next stage of development for their facility and services such as a fresh coat of paint, highly specialised equipment, and offering more opening hours to the community.