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Auckland Airport Community Trust reaches $2 million donation milestone

Monday 4 July 2011, 9:24AM

By Auckland Airport Community Trust

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Children from the 2010 HIPPY Otara programme proudly holding their Graduation certificates
Children from the 2010 HIPPY Otara programme proudly holding their Graduation certificates Credit: Auckland Airport Community Trust

AUCKLAND

With its latest round of donations, the Auckland Airport Community Trust has now achieved an impressive milestone by distributing over $2 million to worthy community projects.

The Trust, which was established in 2003, receives $250,000 a year from Auckland Airport and distributes the money to local Manukau organisations that are benefitting the community in the area of literacy.

Charles Spillane, general manager of corporate affairs at Auckland Airport, says it is a privilege to help local groups who are achieving such great things within the community. “Every cent of this $2 million has been distributed to an organisation that is doing wonderful work within the Manukau community. The Auckland Airport Community Trust dedicates a lot of time to determining who should receive the funding. It is fantastic to see that every donation has had a very real impact on what these organisations are achieving within the community.”

Great Potentials’ Otara HIPPY Programme is one of the many local groups that have benefited from the Trust’s funding. HIPPY Otara, which has received funding from the Trust annually since 2007, is a home-based programme that trains parents to help their pre-school children with learning. HIPPY Otara has proved to be such a success that the programme recently learnt that three quarters of its costs will now be funded by Government, when previously it has received no Government funding.

Jane Hall, HIPPY National Director, says, “The funding from the Auckland Airport Community Trust has played an important part in establishing and maintaining the HIPPY programme in Otara for the past three years. HIPPY Otara is 100 per cent focused on supporting parents and helping them to be actively involved in their children’s learning. The donations we have received from the Trust have been invaluable in helping us to achieve this.”

To view a list of all fund recipients or to find out how to make an application for the Auckland Airport Community Trust funding, please visit www.aucklandairportcommunitytrust.org.nz.