Z Energy (Z) is calling on local 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 $1 million Z has allocated towards community donations this year.
As part of Good in the Hood, each Z station across Aotearoa, New Zealand, will give away $5,000. Each station chooses four charities, neighbourhood groups, or projects from the applications, with $4,000 distributed amongst those groups based on community voting. Customers have an orange token to pop in one of four boxes, voting for their favourite local group. The money is split between the four groups.
A further $1,000 for each Z station is earmarked to support community events and initiatives as they see fit throughout the year.
This year, Z will reach a significant $10 million milestone in contributions to community groups and charities, helping hundreds throughout Aotearoa since 2011. This has primarily been achieved through Z's annual Good in the Hood programme.
Z GM of Retail, Andy Baird, said Good in the Hood empowers Kiwis to engage with community initiatives and choose where additional support goes.
"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," said Baird.
Extra focus will this year be given to regions struck 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 and 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."
Baird continued that confirming another million dollars in support across the country was immensely satisfying, including providing additional funding for Z service stations in some of the harder-hit communities.
Encouraging community groups and local charities to apply for the 2023 round of Good in the Hood funding as soon as possible, Baird said that applications closed at the end of July before the in-store voting period commences in September 2023.
Z and its retailers care deeply about their communities, and Good in the Hood reinforces Z Energy’s pledge that Z is for New Zealand. Focusing on smaller community groups allows the retailer to support organisations that may find it more difficult to access funds than larger charities or groups with existing relationships with donors.
He added that 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 commenced 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."
The $10 million milestone represents Z's long-term commitment to helping Kiwis and what matters most to them.
