Today, Bupa announced a new partnership between the Bupa Foundation and Trees That Count along with six local Community Grants.

The Bupa Foundation, which has been operating in Australia since 2005, has invested more than $35m (AUD) in over 130 different health and care projects and organisations. Bupa recently announced the new directions for the Foundation which will focus on building mentally healthy and resilient communities and creating a healthy planet for healthy people. This also included expanding the work of the Foundation to support activities in New Zealand.

“We are thrilled to be able to bring the Bupa Foundation to New Zealand to help us support the physical and mental health of local communities as well as the environment,” said Carolyn Cooper, Managing Director, Bupa NZ.

“Through our everyday work our people already play an important role in the community by providing the best possible care and quality of life for our residents. The Foundation is an exciting extension of this work which will allow us to invest in innovative prevention and early intervention strategies that unite our people, customers and communities in creating a healthier world.”

The Bupa Foundation has teamed up with Trees That Count to plan and plant three ‘legacy forests’ in 2022, planting more than 10,000 native trees across three regions.

Each legacy forest is intended to create green spaces for the use and enjoyment of future generations, as well as enabling New Zealanders to get involved with planting native tree spaces that contribute to biodiversity, health and wellbeing and fighting climate change.

“This is a unique opportunity for Bupa to be part of something multi-generational and genuinely impactful. The partnership will also develop an online information hub to help educate New Zealanders about the links between planetary health and human health,” said Carolyn.

Trees That Count’s online native tree marketplace is operated by the environmental charity Project Crimson Trust. Head of Partnerships & Marketing, Melanie Seyfort, said she is looking forward to getting the work with Bupa underway.

“We’re delighted to see more of our partners looking at larger and larger planting areas. Every single extra native tree in the ground has an impact, but projects like the one we’ll be undertaking with the Bupa Foundation are at a sort of scale where we can think about real, long-term impacts.”

Bupa Foundation Community Grants

The launch of the Bupa Foundation in New Zealand will include the Community Grants programme which encourages Bupa employees across New Zealand and Australia to identify, nominate and work with eligible organisations that are making a positive difference in their community.

“We’re delighted to be able to support our people to contribute to their communities in a way that is meaningful for them. This year we are investing $60,000 across six organisations – each receiving approximately $10,000,” Carolyn said.

“This year’s organisations include: The Manurewa Marae, Big Brother Big Sister Rotorua, Tauranga’s Women’s Refuge, The Upside Downs Education Trust, Graeme Dingle Foundation and Skylight Trust.*

“These are all very worthy organisations, and we look forward to supporting them this year and seeing the positive difference these grants will make in our communities,” Carolyn added.

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