nib employee grant programme helps save a life

1 February 2017

nib employee grant programme helps save a life

nib employees have helped the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust to save another life as the result of the Trust winning of the health fund’s Good Cause Grants initiative in New Zealand.

In its second year, the Good Cause Grant provides an avenue for nib employees to support the community causes closest to them. The employee nominated and voted grant programme supports five causes across Australia and New Zealand with grants of $5,000.

Madison Boon, an nib Statutory Accountant, nominated the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust after recognising the important role the service plays in assisting surf lifesaving.

“In Auckland, the nearest surf beach is a 45-minute drive along a winding road. When an emergency occurs time is of the essence, so the helicopter is vital to helping surf lifesavers to successfully carry out their role,” Ms Boon said.

“I was so happy my colleagues selected the trust as the New Zealand grant recipient as I know they are in desperate need of funds to support their critical service,” Ms Boon said.

Today, nib CEO Rob Hennin joined Madison as they met eight year-old Connor Lloyd-Read from Wainui near Silverdale, who was severely injured in January when the child-sized motorbike he was driving on a farm road in Colville collided head on with an SUV. Connor was wearing all the appropriate safety gear, but was still knocked unconscious and was flown to Starship Hospital in a serious condition.

CEO of the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust, Greg Barrow, said the Trust’s decision some years ago to base one of their two rescue helicopters at Coromandel over the summer period was paying huge dividends in cases like Connor’s, where access to medical services was very difficult from a remote location like Colville, halfway up the Coromandel Peninsula.

“Over the past few years, widely publicised cuts to our funding from Auckland Council have forced the Trust to ramp up its public and corporate donations to meet our annual fundraising target of over $10 million.

“Every little bit counts so we are grateful to nib and its employees for showing their support and helping keep us in the air,” Mr Barrow said.

“Each life-saving mission carried out by the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust costs around $5,000, so the grant from nib represents another life that we have been able to save in the Auckland region,” he added.

nib Chief Executive Officer, Rob Hennin, said nib was proud to support the causes close to its employees’ hearts.

“Many of our people are involved in community work as volunteers, as fundraisers and donors, or because they have benefited from a particular service. That’s why we draw on their collective wisdom to help us find the causes we should support each year,” Mr Hennin said.

“We are delighted to be able to give back to the community by supporting charities, such as the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust, to deliver important services to those in need,” he added.

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