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Salvation Army Supports People Across the Community

Enquiries to The Salvation Army in Tauranga have doubled compared to last year, with over 260 requests for help since the end of March, meeting the needs of over 600 people. Providing support in the form of social work, food, clothing, furniture and non-food essential items, The Salvation Army has also been helping families across the Western Bay experience some sense of normality in these strange times. Whether delivering Easter eggs and activity packs to whanau with young children, providing ...

STEMFest

Families from around the country and the Western Bay flocked to Durham Street in Tauranga to share in wonder, amazement, curiosity and discovery, as STEMFest took over the city for a day full of exciting experiments and engaging hands-on learning. The world class festival was designed to engage and inspire a new generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. And it did just that. A Fun-Filled Day for the Family With exhibitors from industry leaders such as Nanogirl Labs, ...

New Phones for Te Puna Hauora Ki Uta Ki Tai Alleviate Isolation

For mental health providers supporting our community through lockdown, having access to a phone is vital. Having access to a smartphone, however, opens up a whole new way to connect. Community mental health provider Te Puna Hauora Ki Uta Ki Tai knows just how valuable a simple upgrade in phones is for not only its team, but its hundreds of clients seeking help. Recent funding received through the Rapid Response Fund has allowed the not-for-profit organisation to purchase 18 smartphones—one...

Alzheimer's Tauranga

It has been a time of many unknowns. The significant change we have all experienced has seen us adapt and come together as a nation to slow the spread of COVID-19. The potential escalation and uncertainty we faced as we headed into lockdown can serve as a small lens into the life of a family affected by dementia. The condition is unexpected, its progression and effects on a person are uncertain, and much of existing day to day life and routines can be challenged. Alzheimer’s Tauranga has been ...

Mockingbird

Imagine living in a world where you feel isolated; people don’t always understand you, it can be difficult to focus, and at times everything can seem overwhelming. Living with neurodiversity can be a daily struggle. For teenager Sophia Mudgway, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it was affecting her schooling and socialising was difficult.    “It seemed like there was no hope or light at the end of the tunnel,” says Sophia’s mother, Nicola. Now, the 13-year-old is happier,...

Brave Hearts

It is a dark underbelly many of us don’t see. One we imagine we never will. But addiction is a reality that can creep into any one of our lives when it takes hold of our loved ones. From stealing and lying, to aggression and depression, the devastation wrought by addiction does not end at one person. It ripples through the lives of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and friends, and it’s a hard role to be in. Erin O’Neill knows that reality well. When her son was a teenager, he became a...

Tauranga Community Foodbank Sees Surge in New Clients

A third of people Tauranga Community Foodbank has helped in the last month have never used their service before. From those self-employed now unable to earn, to stranded international seasonal workers, and elderly unable to access food with no family support, the local charity is ensuring no one in our community goes hungry. It is something Tauranga Community Foodbank Manager Nicki Goodwin says requires wrap-around support. “As well as providing food, we need to ensure we give time to support ...

$103,000 in Funding Approved Through Rapid Response Fund

Over $103,000 in funding was approved last week through the Rapid Response Fund, supporting nine community groups facing increased demand as a result of COVID-19. This second round of funding supported a wide range of community groups, from food support and shelter for the homeless, to foster care services and health care providers. The groups include Awhina House, Homes of Hope, Open Home Foundation, Te Tuinga Whanau Support, Nga Kakano Foundation, Pacific Island Community Trust, Good Neighbour...

Street Kai Show Kindness to Homeless Through Lockdown

It's a family gathering every Monday night; sharing food, a cuppa, conversations, and kindness. But this family gathering is a little larger than most. 'Milo Night', as it's known, brings 150 people in our community together at the Willow Street bus stop each week, to be greeted by the warm welcome of Street Kai—a charity feeding the homeless. And it's not just food. Supplying toiletries, clothing, dog food, haircuts or even a chat with a medic, they care for those in need in our community...

Changing Face of Healthcare Supported by Community Good

In our bubbles, we have been keeping safe. Essential health care service providers are ensuring those bubbles aren't too disrupted, taking extra precautions while caring for those in need. For Pirirakau Hauora, a hapū-based Māori health provider, amongst all the changes and precautions taken, one thing holding strong is the whanau connection. Delivering a range of health and wellbeing services to the hapū of Pirirakau and people of Te Puna and surroundi...

Help Still Available for Victims of Family Violence During Lockdown

While the rate of infections slows, hidden victims of the lockdown grow—those living with family violence. Trapped in homes with their abusers, they are isolated from their friends and extended family, and may experience violence happening more often, more severely or taking different forms. The lockdown has seen an increase in new referrals to Tauranga Living Without Violence, an agency whose primary focus is the safety and wellbeing of women and children. Their team have been working rem...

Funding from Rapid Response Fund a Welcome Relief for Community Groups

A new fund established by local funders has paid out its first round of grants this week, supporting community groups who are experiencing increased demand and/or funding shortfall as a result of COVID-19. The twelve community groups have received a total of $76,869 in funding from the Rapid Response Fund, established by TECT, Acorn Foundation, BayTrust and Tauranga City Council. The community groups supported include Tauranga Living Without Violence, Street Kai, Tauranga Community Foodbank, Emp...

TECT Rescue Helicopter Adapting to Protect Community During Lockdown

The streets may be quieter, the bike tracks empty, and the parks abandoned. But unfortunately, accidents still happen. From rolled cars, to serious medical events, one charity working through the COVID-19 lockdown to ensure we can all get to the hospital quickly and safely is the TECT Rescue Helicopter. While the service is still fully operational, new precautionary measures are being taken to protect the safety and wellbeing of our local crew and their patients. The Intensive Care Paramedics n...

Western Bay of Plenty Funders Collaborate for Rapid Response COVID-19 Fund

Funders in the Western Bay of Plenty have come together to establish a new Rapid Response Fund to support community groups who are experiencing increased demand and/or funding shortfall as a result of COVID-19. The funders, who have committed to pool from their current granting reserves a total of $600,000 in funding, include TECT, BayTrust, Acorn Foundation and Tauranga City Council. “Through this funding we will support those community groups protecting and caring for the most vulnerable i...

Tauranga Arts Festival

Whether you wanted to be wowed by aerial acrobatics, watch a laugh-out-loud funny play, or have your heart strings pulled by beautiful singing performance, with music, theatre, workshops and so much more, there was something for everyone at the Tauranga Arts Festival in 2019. The Tauranga Arts Festival is well established in the Tauranga Moana community, providing experiences that expand minds, delight audiences and touch all corners of the community since 1999 with the Festival happen...

Te Puna Community Kindergarten

Kindergartens are a place to learn, grow and play; providing children with the opportunity to practice essential social, emotional, and problem-solving skills that will be used throughout their life. For children at Te Puna Kindergarten, a brand-new facility will set the stage for a life-long love of learning thanks to its purpose-built design. Funding for New Facility After a major road transport development planned for the Tauranga Northern Link expressway to be built through their old site...

Scholarships Awarded to University of Waikato Tauranga Campus Students

Over twenty University of Waikato Tauranga campus students gathered last night to celebrate receiving scholarships generously donated by the Tauranga Tertiary Campus Charitable Trust (TTCCT) and Acorn Foundation. Key funders of the campus development, Tauranga City Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and TECT supported the Tauranga Tertiary Campus Charitable Trust to fund three scholarships ranging in value from $1,000 to $23,000 per year, for twenty students to study at the University of Wa...

The Elms

The Elms | Te Papa Tauranga is a place like no other, where you can step back in time and learn about the rich history and significance of its buildings and gardens. The heritage site, known originally as Otamataha pā, was the landing place of ancestral waka and home to a thriving Māori community. In the 1830s, it became a place of contact between Māori and Pākehā as missionaries expanded their work in the Bay of Plenty. The beautiful Georgian house was built on the site in 1847 for Reveren...

Finalists Announced for TECT Community Awards

TECT is proud to announce the finalists for the TECT Community Awards, which celebrate the community groups, volunteers and young changemakers who are helping make the Western Bay of Plenty one of the greatest places to live. The awards will be held at Baycourt Community and Arts Centre on 19 March and will see finalists vying for six main awards: Event Excellence, Sustainable Future, Diversity and Inclusion, Rising Star, Youth Spirit and Volunteer of the Year. A Lifetime Service Award winner wi...

Sport Bay of Plenty

Throwing, jumping, catching, kicking. Since 2011 Sport Bay of Plenty’s GO4it programme has helped thousands of primary school students develop the fundamental movement skills that enable them to be active for life. Funded by TECT, the programme is closely linked to the New Zealand Health and Physical Education Curriculum for Years 1 to 6. GO4it educators visit participating Western Bay of Plenty schools to deliver fun physical games and activities during P.E. class time and help teachers with...

Film Bay of Plenty

With enchanting forests, pristine lakes, golden beaches, and geothermal wonderlands, the Bay of Plenty has every backdrop you could possibly imagine. Being such a diverse region, offering an incredible variety of environments, the Bay of Plenty is a gem that should be highlighted on the world-stage as a go-to destination for film production. Ensuring the region gets its time in the spotlight is Film Bay of Plenty. Promoting the Bay to the international and national screen media industry, Film B...

Katch Katikati

As the mural town of New Zealand, Katikati has much to offer as a destination. Now, with a new creative arts centre, The Arts Junction, Katikati is becoming known as a destination not just for its murals, but all forms of art. The Arts Junction is a multi-purpose facility, where arts and information live—home to a visitor information centre, exhibition space and a theatre. A Bright Welcoming Space What used to be the old library is now a bright, welcoming space open 7 days a week to the ...

The Incubator Creative Hub

Creativity and creation, telling your story and the story of others, expressing emotion and bringing out emotion in others; art is an experience which encompasses so much, it’s hard to know how best to describe it in words. What we do know is that art and culture build community wellbeing, allowing everyone to participate regardless of background or socio-economic status. This in turn builds strength and resilience in a community, providing a vitality and richness of experience that is essenti...

TECT Sole Sponsor of Rescue Helicopter

TECT, longtime supporter of the Bay of Plenty Coastal rescue helicopter service, have recently become sole naming right sponsor. Formerly known as the Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter it will now be known as the TECT Rescue Helicopter. ‘We are delighted to continue our long-standing partnership with TECT, an organisation with a purpose we both believe and share in – to service and strengthen the community by making a positive difference," says Vanessa Richmond, Group Manager. TECT have comm...

Papamoa Swimming Club

Swimming is more than just a sport; it is a life skill everyone should learn. While some life skills can be taught easily in a lesson or two, swimming is one life skill that takes years of practice, repetition, and consistency to retain. Providing regular swimming lessons, from 5 years up to competitive squad training is the Papamoa Swimming Club. The Club operates the only community pool in the Papamoa region. With a growing population of over 20,000 living close to the water, it is vital that...