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Auckland, April 2, 2019
A Hindi language school in West Auckland is set to benefit from a charitable initiative which saw $1 million donated to almost 50 organisations.
Over the course of three weeks, 200,000 votes were cast which saw 48 groups secure funding for their projects, with some charities raising thousands of dollars a day by coordinating their supporters to go online.
Social initiative
The Million-Dollar Mission is an initiative developed ‘The Trusts,’ a West Auckland based social enterprise, which redistributes the profits from the retail sales of food and beverages through its hospitality venues and off-license outlets around the region.
New Zealanders were able to vote online for the cause of their choice with each vote providing $5 to the group to help complete projects of benefit to the local community.
The Trusts Chief Executive Simon Wickham said that education charities were some of the biggest winners in this year’s round of funding with their combined donations reaching more than $350,000.
The Waitakere Hindi Language and Cultural School teaches Hindi by promoting and developing the primary skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
The School will use the funding grant of $15,000 to upgrade their overall administration office and event-related equipment.
About ‘The Trusts’
The Million Dollar Mission is in its third year of operation and has provided $3 million in funding to almost 100 community groups since it began.
The Trusts is a business which has exclusive rights to retail liquor in the West Auckland region. Formed in 1972, it is the largest of the entities of its kind in New Zealand and is tasked with reinvesting profits from the sale of alcohol back into community programmes, grants and sponsorships.
Mr Wickham said that the million dollar charitable initiative is an example of how the licensing model is able to support charities while at the same time better manage the sale of alcohol.
Past initiatives have included the multi-million dollar support for The Trusts Stadium and the provision of free smoke alarms and fire extinguishers to every resident in the region.
“Most of the profits from liquor sales around New Zealand are retained by store owners. Under the model we operate within, the proceeds are returned to the community,” he said.
He said that the causes were chosen by a judging panel including Linda Vagana, Duncan Garner and Sir Bob Harvey who selected 48 finalists from over 100 applicants.
