Collaborating with communities in Whangarei

Within 24 hours the first application was in. “The team have been blown away by the response,” said Director, John Monteith. “We already foster a spirit of community involvement, and have been active supporters of the community for many years – beyond the traditional role of a real estate agency… with our own team members supporting causes from SPCA, Lions, Banardos, I Have A Dream and many other organisations in our District. We thought the need was there, but to talk to the applicants and field phone calls and enquiries from the public first hand has been a real eye-opener. Through this new fund, we are committed to supporting increased access to opportunities for the Whangarei community – to create a thriving environment and cohesive communities, while promoting a sense of ‘connectedness’.”

It is following on from the creation of their own Charitable Trust, The Ray White Allens Education Foundation (established in 2006), that the We Can Help With That initiative emerged. Their charitable trust supported Northland youth who demonstrated a passion for excellence and were looking to achieve their career goals through further education and training through the creation of annual scholarships. While the scholarships were a great success, providing over $124,000 worth of scholarships which helped 92 Northlanders get closer to achieving their career goals over the last 12 years, the team wanted to see their funding used on projects that would benefit even more Northlanders. We Can Help With That was therefore established to support an even broader range of groups and individuals in the local community – with a vision to create a community of active people, resilient communities and sustainable environments through supporting projects that focus on people, participation and places.