Bupa today announced the recipients of its 2024 Bupa Foundation Community Grants, with 13 community groups each receiving around $10,000 to support programs that build mentally healthy and resilient communities and address the link between planet health and human health.

The Community Grants Program started in 2019 and, to date, has provided more than $2 million to support communities across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

Michael Burgess, Bupa’s Director of Sustainability & Corporate Affairs, said local community groups have an immense impact on people’s health and the environment.

“The Bupa Foundation supports a range of initiatives across New Zealand that are making a difference in our communities. Boosting grass-roots programs at a local level is a vital part of our ambition to help create healthier people and planet.

“This year’s Grants recipients are diverse in terms of their location and purpose with both national programmes and hyper local initiatives receiving grants. We look forward to seeing this investment put to good use helping incredible people and organisations drive physical, mental and environmental benefits across the motu,” Michael said.

The full list of Bupa Foundation Community Grant recipients and the programs supported through the Bupa Foundation Community Grants program:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters Christchurch: Big Brothers Big Sisters Christchurch is a children's charity providing life-changing one-to-one mentoring for children facing barriers and experiencing adversity due to circumstances beyond their control.
• Dementia Wellington: The Staying Active program aims to combat social isolation and enables people with dementia to remain connected and engaged in their community.
• Endangered Species Foundation: The Drains are Streams project is dedicated to conserving New Zealand's freshwater ecosystems, focusing on the endangered native freshwater species.
• Graeme Dingle Foundation Aukland: The Kiwi Can programme focuses on early intervention teaching life skills and values, delivered to high EQI Primary and Intermediate schools by trained Kiwi Can Leaders with every child attending once a week throughout the school year.
• Just Move Charitable Health Trust: The From the Couch Program is a 12 week exercise and lifestyle change program designed as a step towards wellness for underserved communities struggling with obesity in South and West Auckland.
• Louise Perkins Foundation: Provides a range of support services to improve quality of life for people in New Zealand who have been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer.
• Northcross Intermediate: The Hikoi Ki Te Taha programme at Northcross Intermediate School was provides direct and practical intervention to support the mental wellbeing of identified at-risk children, improving their behavioural and learning outcomes.
• North Shore Centres of Mutual Aid: Will run additional programs to reduce isolation and improve the mental health of older adults.
• Oke Charity: Cultivates a love for learning and healthy living in children by building school gardens throughout Aotearoa.
• Parents of Vision Impaired: The grant will provide financial assistance to those hoping to attend their Parent Conference, to be held in October 2025 in Auckland. The parent conference is designed to meet the needs of our parents/whānau of blind, deafblind and vision impaired children.
• The Kindness Collective Foundation: Their Everyday Essentials programme supports children and their families living in poverty with day-to-day essentials during times of hardship.
• Visionwest Community Trust: Visionwest's qualified counsellors and supervised interns will work one-to-one with Senior clients to help them identify issues, set goals and provide a safe therapeutic space to talk.
• Wingspan Trust: The SUPA SAVVIES initiative is a 13-week facilitated programme designed to foster social connection to protect against isolation and depression among older adults in our community who live independently.

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