Funding boost for five Top of the South NZ community organisations.

Five Top of the South community organisations have been given a funding boost today thanks to forestry company OneFortyOne’s community grants program.

Kylie Reeves, OneFortyOne’s Corporate Affairs Manager explains that the company offers one-off grants of up to $5,000.  “We are particularly keen to support projects that relate to People, Ideas, Nature, Environment (PINE). We assess the applications every two months, giving consideration to our objectives and impact – this ensures the process is fair, but otherwise we leave it to applicants to let us know what they need most,” said Kylie.

“This funding round we received applications from a diverse range of projects. The five successful organisations were chosen as it was felt that they would all make a big impact in the community in their own way.

“Since we launched in July 2021, we have supported 60 community projects in the region, contributing over $160,000 in funding and building materials through the community grants program,” said Kylie.

Below are the successful February grant recipients:

Hearing Association Nelson Inc received a $5,000 grant which will help deliver their Dangerous Decibels program in schools.

Pete Dowling, Manager of Hearing Nelson said this education program is the only World Health Organisation approved hearing loss awareness program in the world.

“With the increased use of technology devices such as headphones and bluetooth ear buds, it’s crucial for the younger generation to know how to prevent hearing loss.”

“Thanks to the OneFortyOne grant our interactive science-based program will be able to reach over 3,000 students within our region this year,” said Pete.

REAP Marlborough received a $1,800 grant which will help fund drama education for rural communities in Marlborough.

Selena Tonks, Education Adviser for REAP Marlborough said the grant funding will allow them to deliver the drama workshops in six rural communities in Marlborough.

“The performance will bring the community together as we use drama to learn about local Marlborough places and stories.

“The programs will be aimed at tamariki and students and along with having fun and learning a new skill it’s also hoped it will help build student resilience and emotional regulation, leading to reduced stress and anxiety, said Selena.

Tamaha Sea Scouts based in Mapua received $1,430 to purchase a new inflatable tent and ground sheet.  Amanda Brett, Group Leader, Tamaha Sea Scouts said a new tent will be a valuable asset they can use for their camps.

“Moving to these new larger inflatable tents means that our scouts will be able to camp in their patrols at regattas and we will be confident they will stay dry in wet conditions unlike some of our older tents that have lost their weatherproofing.” 

“The funds will allow us to purchase a new large inflatable tent which will mean we can make the most of our weekend camps with a quicker set up so we can maximise our time exploring what our camping location has to offer.” 

“These unique outdoor camping experiences are the highlight of being in the scouting movement, empowering our youth and creating positive lifelong memories with a respect of the outdoors. These camps build teamwork and self-resilience for the youth by cooking, sleeping, playing and exploring together with their peers.” Amanda said.

Valley Stags Rugby Club received $2,000. The Valley Stags is the combined senior rugby team for Tapawera and Rangers clubs in the Tasman Rugby Union. There are also combined kids teams under the Valley Stags organization which includes players from the Murchison and Tapawera clubs.

Dion McGaveston, Chair of the Valley Stags Rugby Club said rural rugby is at the heart of what they do, and we couldn’t operate without the support from local businesses like OneFortyOne New Zealand. “It’s fantastic to have them onboard,” said Dion.

The Marlborough Fijian Community received $1,800 which supports their Covenant Brothers Team, a dedicated group of rugby enthusiasts, to participate in the Marlborough 7s, hosted by Navigation Pasifika.

For more information about our community grants, see www.onefortyone.com/community/grants. The next funding round for New Zealand grants will be at the end of April 2024.