It’s a privilege to support NZ’S true heroes.
It’s no surprise that nearly every New Zealander of every generation recognises The Salvation Army; established in 1883 they have been fighting poverty and social issues in this country ever since. Their mission is to care for people, transform lives and reform society. In practical terms the ‘Sallies’ help over 120,000 kiwi families and individuals a year with budgeting advice, food and clothing assistance, life skills programmes, counselling, emergency and community services.
In 2011 our Crown New Zealand staff voted the Salvation Army as our community partner of choice and we have had the privilege of working closely with them ever since. At the heart of the relationship is our Salvation Army ‘Giving Back’ cartons. These are provided to all customers on their pack days. They are filled with surplus (non perishable) food items, books and DVD’s. Our operation crews then seal these boxes in the home and deliver to the Sallies on their behalf.
The generosity of our customers has exceeded our expectations as many have asked for multiple cartons which go a long way to helping families in need. We set a goal of collecting 2,000 cartons per year and with our customers help we were able to exceed that target every year since 2013. We have discovered that The Salvation Army are held in very high esteem by the majority of New Zealanders.
Of course it’s not just up to our customers to demonstrate their empathy with those in need. Crown NZ have trademarked what we call ‘A Big Sallies Surprise’. This is our way of helping to ‘fill the gaps’ and support the Sallies social programmes. A ‘Big Sallie Surprise’ could involve volunteering, a small fundraising drive or national support of the 14 hour homeless and Red Shield campaigns. It can also be a special project in support of a specific need or to assist with a relief effort in times of crisis. Some of the special projects Crown has been involved with include;
- Working with the New Zealand Breakers basketball team to raise over 100,000 cans of donated foodstuffs and $50,000 of other goods for the Sallies foodbank right before Christmas.
- Teaming up with our business partners Royal Wolf Containers and Maersk to raise a ‘Container Army’ of relief supplies and emergency housing when Cyclone Winston devastated the Fijian Islands. 12 containers were sent to Fiji in support of the Sallies relief effort.
- Being the first New Zealand business to support the Salvation Army’s ‘Cherish a Child’ programme. Crown staff raised enough money to sponsor 13 Tongan and Fijian children over a 3 year period. The purpose of this was to enable each child the opportunity to attend school and have the same learning opportunities as others more fortunate.
In November 2013 Crown New Zealand were honoured to be presented with the Salvation Army’s ‘Valued Partner Award’. We are now one of five companies that this award has been given to in the history of The Salvation Army in New Zealand, something we are extremely proud of. We consider it a privilege to help others less fortunate than ourselves and we will continue to work with The Salvation Army to help Kiwis and their families who are in need.
