The Catalytic Foundation would like to acknowledge the Dunedin Community Transport Trust for the essential accessibility services they provide to members of the community.

The Dunedin Community Transport Trust provides low-income elderly individuals with access to flexible and affordable transport to allow them to simply get on with their lives. It's more than just helping to get people from A to B, but also about encouraging independence and maintaining well-being. 

Currently, they arrange and transport approximately 35 people on a weekly basis to and from the supermarket. This simple act of empowerment means many of these people can continue to live in their own homes independently. Shopping together as a group has also created a certain sense of belonging. 

We would like to thank all the staff and volunteers of Dunedin Community Transport Trust for the work they do in assisting these low-income individuals/families to access an affordable and reliable transport service on a regular basis.

The recent findings from our Covid-19 Community Needs research has found that community charities need our help now more than ever. Please consider a donation or setting up workplace giving so we can get support to where it's needed most. 

We'd like to acknowledge and appreciate the work done by the Heart Kids Otago team. 

Heart Kids Otago is one of the affiliated branches of Heart Kids NZ. They are a small dedicated and passionate team that provide support to families and individuals affected by heart issues. At the moment they  support over 400 heart members located in the greater Otago region. 

Heart Kids Otago provide support to people of all ages, individuals as well as their extended whanau. They provide practical aid and emotional support during and after treatment. This includes things like:

• Home or hospital visits
• Connecting people to professional help and community services
• Matching families to others who are experiencing a similar journey
• Assisting with access to specialised medical equipment
• Hospital/home food care packages 

We are delighted to have been able to provide funding to this amazing charity. The work done by Heart Kids Otago is absolutely inspiring and makes a big difference to patients and their families. 

The recent findings from our Covid-19 Community Needs research has found that community charities need our help now more than ever. Please consider a donation or setting up workplace giving so we can get support to where it's needed most. 

We'd like to thank Pregnancy Help Dunedin and their volunteers for the amazing work they do serve pregnant women and their families throughout Dunedin.

Pregnancy Help is a charity offering a range of services to pregnant women and their families throughout Aotearoa. They provide useful information to pregnant women and their families to help them make informed decisions. They provide a safe space for pregnant women to get support through their different stages of pregnancy and also post-pregnancy. 

Servicing their clients is at the core of what they do. Each regional Pregnancy Help branch has a local telephone number that any woman who is pregnant or who has recently been pregnant can ring for a friendly listening ear or guidance. The local focus means they can also assist with arranging appointments such as referrals for specialised counselling, maternity services, and WINZ, which is specific to each area. 

The Catalytic foundation is happy to know that our grant assisted with the set up of Pregnancy Help Dunedin's Covid-19 Response Fund, which enabled courier services to send essential practical support out to their clients during Level 3 and 4 lockdowns. Pregnancy Help Dunedin have had to think outside the box in terms of how to service clients during a pandemic and it is good to know we were able to assist in some way.

The recent findings from our Covid-19 Community Needs research has found that community charities need our help now more than ever. Please consider a donation or setting up workplace giving so we can get support to where it's needed most. 

The Catalytic Foundation acknowledges and appreciates the inspirational work done by Presbyterian Support Otago and their volunteers. We are proud to have supported their ability to provide community services throughout Otago.

Presbyterian Support Otago helps the community through services such as:

• Social events for the elderly
• Social services for families and youth
• Emergency food parcels for people in financial need

They also offer locations for the community to come together such as Shop On op shops, Youthgrow community gardens and the Ross cafe so that people can come together and socialize in safe community environments.  

A highlight piece of work they do is their Buddy mentoring programme. It is a way to support the emotional and social well being of children by matching them with carefully selected and trained adult volunteers. The Catalaytic Foundation are delighted to know that our grant was able to help in the smooth functioning of this worthwhile programme.

The recent findings from our Covid-19 Community Needs research has found that community charities need our help now more than ever. Please consider a donation or setting up workplace giving so we can get support to where it's needed most. 

Otago Polytechnic Charity House raised $115,000 for Otago community groups at the 15th edition of the Annual Charity House auction. 🙌

Each year, Otago Polytechnic carpentry learners build a four-bedroom house with guidance from their lecturers and generous support from many local businesses.

This project is an excellent example of the hands-on learning approach and shows how OP students make a better world.

The fully-furnished four-bedroom house was sold for $365,000 on 20th November, breaking the previous record sale of $325,000 in 2020.

Catalytic Foundation (formerly United Way NZ) will soon distribute these funds to frontline community charities in Otago.

29 days left to donate to the Christmas Shoebox Appeal

With the end of the year fast approaching and so many families in need of our support because of the pandemic, we’re asking you to please dig deep this year and support our Christmas Shoebox Appeal.

It is with the collective support of wonderful people like Maria and her grandchildren; Jack, Olive, Louie and Ava that we can help make a child's Christmas a happier time

Click here to Donate

Click here to order a box to fill 

This Christmas will be particularly hard for a lot of struggling families and children in New Zealand. The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that many children are living in households with barely enough necessities and dealing with financial hardship on top of interruptions to schooling and social routines.

Christmas Shoeboxes go to children in refuges who had left everything behind to escape domestic violence, they go to families struggling to put food on the table and to those spending their first Christmas in New Zealand, separated from their own culture and family. 

How you can help?

1. Donate here every $50 provides a special box of gifts and you can choose the region you want to support.

2. Register here so we can provide you with boxes to fill with gifts

3. Share our social media posts to people you know

It’s a small gesture of kindness, but the effect on the recipient families can be life-changing

The study had over 560 responses from charities across New Zealand and were conducted around periods of COVID-19 lockdown.

1. First survey in March/April 2020 as NZ went into level 3-4
2. Second survey in April/May 2020 as NZ moved out of level 4-3 to level 2.
3. Third survey in July/August as NZ went into level 4  
   
   

Click Here for the 2021 Community Needs Research Report

Insights from the 2021 survey

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  • Over 90% of charities reported that they were affected by Covid-19 (consistent with the two previous surveys)
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  • 73% reported an increase in demand for their services, which is an increase from the 48% reported in the previous survey.
•  
  • Having identified in the previous two surveys that “Additional funding” was the primary need of the charities, the latest survey highlighted “Operational costs and expenses”, “Additional financial support” and “Staff” as three immediate needs they need help with.
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  • Charities have reported an increase in the amount of financial support they need compared to previous surveys. The most significant change is in the upper bands of funding – over 25% selected 100k (compared to 11% in previous survey), 20% selected 50k (compared to 5% in previous survey), and 16% selected 10k (compared to 12% in previous survey), with the lower bands largely the same comparing the latest and previous survey.
•  
  • A new question in this year’s survey asked charities what resources they needed. The top three needs were for laptops (58%), followed by food (44%) then mobile phones (31%), which indicates the need for technology.
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  • There is a significant increase in the number of professional skilled volunteers and people needed to help with charity support services compared to the surveys run last year. This year’s survey showed 45% needing volunteers for charity support services, followed closely by professional skilled volunteers at 45% (compared this to the 17% from the previous survey and 12% before that).

Overview from the Catalytic Foundation Covid-19 Community Needs Surveys

Similar to last year, the research this year has identified that practically all nationwide charities have been affected by the pandemic and have an increased demand for their social services.

For many charities, obtaining additional funding is a primary need and the amount needed has increased compared to last year, largely due to operational costs/expenses, additional financial support and staff. On the last point, the need for professionally skilled volunteers and people to help with charity support services may be an indication that charities are short-staffed and low funded so rely more and more on unpaid helpers.

Lastly, the research has identified that charities need donations around tech (laptops and phones), as well as the more expected food and secondhand goods.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL REPORT 

We want to acknowledge the team behind Home & Family who work with children, youth, adults and families in Christchurch facing challenges to build positive outcomes in their lives.

Home & Family has been in support of the Christchurch community for over 120 years. Some of the work that they do include:

• Providing children home with whānau who cherish them, keep them safe and nurture their potential.
• Residential parenting programme which has 24 hours supported accommodation for parents with children.
• Help with affordable, professional and confidential counselling services for couples, youth and children.

Their work in the family violence sector aims to ensure that the voices of children and young people impacted by family violence are heard and their needs met.

"Post Lockdown we noticed a 30% increase in demand for our child therapy services.”
- Home & Family Christchurch

Catalytic Foundation is proud to support Home & Family with a grant to ensure that they can reach even more people in need. We would like to thank all the volunteers and staff for their amazing work through these tough times.

The recent findings from our Covid-19 Community Needs research has found that community charities need our help now more than ever. Please consider a donation or setting up workplace giving so we can get support to where it's needed most. 

Thank you to Age Concern Whanganui, a community based non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of the elderly.

Age Concern Whanganui offers a variety of services and information to help cater to the needs of older people, families, and communities in their area. Their wide range of services include: 

• Calling service for people who don't like face to face interaction
• Arranging transport and subsidising taxi fares for the elderly to make it easy for them to reach hospitals or their place of need.

Since the last two lockdowns, the charity has seen an increase in demand especially within the Elder Abuse Service and support services. Through their team of staff and volunteers, Age Concern Whanganui were able to provide support to over a thousand elderly people in need in the past year. This is an amazing accomplishment given the lockdowns and the current uncertain climate.

The Catalytic Foundation is really proud to have provided a grant to Age Concern Whanganui to support the incredible service they provide to the elderly in our community. We would like to thank all the staff and volunteers of Age Concern Whanganui who work tirelessly towards helping their community. 

The recent findings from our Covid-19 Community Needs research has found that community charities need our help now more than ever. Please consider a donation or setting up workplace giving so we can get support to where it's needed most.