Communities Benefit From Meridian Fund

Media release for immediate use 18 November 2009

Five community groups have benefited by almost $23,000 in the latest round of funding from the Meridian White Hill Community Fund.

The largest contribution went to the Northern Southland Community Resource Centre, which received $11,000 to help it to purchase a new vehicle for its community worker.

The Centre is governed by the Northern Southland Community Resource Centre Charitable Trust and was set up to provide community and youth services and support for locals.

Jim Bottcher, Trust Chair, says the new Subaru Legacy stationwagon will be invaluable to the sole community worker.

“Our community worker’s focus is on improving the quality of services for families, individuals, and groups,” he says. “The generous support from the Meridian Community Fund for the new vehicle will give our community worker better access to rural areas and so provide more support and advice to families and the elderly in their own homes.

“Her workload has increased significantly so it’s clearly a service the community values and needs. We offer support to the many migrant workers who come to Northern Southland to work on dairy farms, so the new vehicle will enable us to reach more people, especially in remote areas.”

The Trust is based at the Lumsden Resource Centre and has recently facilitated a number of successful parenting, youth and school holiday programmes.

Meridian White Hill Community Fund Panel Chair Alan Seay says the panel considered this trust to be a very worthy project.

“We are thrilled to be able to support so many valuable initiatives that will have a positive impact in the Northern Southland community,” he says.

“The new vehicle for the Northern Southland Community Resource Centre Charitable Trust’s community worker is a particularly good one. It will mean people and families in need of assistance can be quickly reached in their home.”

Applications for consideration in the next round of Meridian White Hill Community Funding must be submitted by 18 February 2010.

For more information on the Community Funds visit http://www.meridian.co.nz/AboutUs/

White Hill Community Fund recipients

Northern Southland Community Resource Centre

$11,000 granted to enable the purchase of a replacement vehicle to assist the Trust's community worker to better access rural areas and provide support to families, community members and the elderly in their own homes.

Lumsden Primary School
Granted $5,000 to purchase five laptops to help the Lumsden Primary School become an IT literate school.

Lumsden Balfour Kingston Presbyterian Church
Granted $299 towards the purchase of a table tennis table, bats and balls for youth to use at the Centre.

Dipton School
Granted $4,500 towards the purchase of ICT equipment, including laptops, a data projector and a wireless Internet connection.

Royal NZ Plunket Society Southland Area (Inc)
$2,190 granted to assist with the Plunket Carseat Rental Scheme for the Dipton, Mossburn and Lumsden Plunket Sub Branch areas.

ENDS

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