Bupa announced a new partnership between its foundation and New Zealand based community organisations.
The Bupa Foundation has been operating in Australia since 2005 and has invested more than $35 million in over 130 different health and care projects and organisations.
It recently announced the new directions for the foundation that will focus on building mentally healthy and resilient communities. 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, the managing director of 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 is supporting Trees That Count to plan and plant three ‘legacy forests’ in 2022. This would involve the planting of more than 10,000 native trees across three regions and 5,000 native trees through community projects.
“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 Ms Cooper.
Trees That Count’s online native tree marketplace is operated by the environmental charity Project Crimson Trust.
Head of partnerships and marketing, Melanie Seyfort, said, “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 said the launch of its foundation in New Zealand will include the Community Grants program that encourages its 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,” said Ms Cooper.
“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,” she added.