Aucklanders Urged To Vote for Medibank Community Fund Grant Winners

Aucklanders are being urged to get behind organisations that have been shortlisted to win a 2015 Medibank Community Fund (MCF) grant.

Five New Zealand projects have been shortlisted to share in grants worth $600,000. For the first time, Kiwis can vote for the initiative they believe will be of most benefit to their community.

In the Auckland region, the Skylight Trust, which wants to deliver its ‘Getting Stronger’ board game to 34 low decile schools in the Auckland region, has been short listed. The game helps build resilience in young people aged 8 to 14, encouraging them to open up about sensitive topics such as parental breakup, bullying, death, addiction and domestic violence.

A national project, the Garden to Table Trust, which operates a food literacy programme for primary school children, including several schools in the Auckland region, is also on the short list. The programme’s philosophy of sustainable practices, healthy eating, class participation and sharing, and hands-on learning can be delivered in a way that matches schools’ resources and needs, connecting the specialist garden and kitchen teachers as well as classroom teachers, families, volunteers and the community. The programme doesn’t just teach garden and table skills for life, but enables children to make informed food choices in the future.

Medibank New Zealand General Manager Andrea Pettett says the MCF grants programme is an important investment in community health, supporting local initiatives that encourage healthy eating, physical activity or community connectedness.

“MCF invited not-for-profit organisations to apply for funding for initiatives they believe will make their community a healthier place to be.

“We received a record number of grant applications this year and it’s clear that organisations all over New Zealand are keen to improve both the mental and physical wellbeing of their communities.

“Medibank employees reviewed the applications and selected the projects that best met the criteria.”

Andrea Pettett says all the projects are making important contributions to the health and wellbeing of local communities and responding to the particular needs of specific groups.

She urged people in the Auckland region to get behind their chosen project by registering their vote at http://mcfcommunitygrants.com.au before Friday 5 December.

More than $100,000 in Medibank Community Fund grants were made to New Zealand projects in the 2014.

Medibank Community Fund website

About Medibank Health Solutions
Medibank Health Solutions New Zealand offers innovative and cost-effective health care services to business and government. Medibank Health Solutions:
• is a national provider of homecare services for ACC
• provides the Phone@Home telephone service for people with mild to moderate mental health concerns
• operates Healthline, a 24-hour a day, 7 days a week health advice line for the Ministry of Health
• operates other telephone health services, including a Mental Health Line for a number of District Health Boards
• provides the Lifetest insurance co-ordination service for insurance companies.

ENDS

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