Plunket and BNZ announce national partnership

The Royal New Zealand Plunket Society (Inc) is thrilled to today announce the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) as its new principal partner.

Plunket CEO Jenny Prince says the sponsorship will allow Plunket to continue to support New Zealand children, families and the communities they live in.

“Both BNZ and Plunket are community focused and driven, and committed to working within local areas alongside families in ways relevant to their needs. We view this as much more a partnership and not simply a sponsorship,” says Ms Prince.

“The new relationship is wide-ranging but with a core focus on parenting education and Plunket’s Annual Appeal, which this year runs from 22 to 28 March.”

Stephen Mockett, Chief Operating Officer, at BNZ says: “The majority of New Zealanders have a Plunket story and with more than 90 per cent of newborns every year being Plunket babies, BNZ is proud to announce that we are now the principal partner of Plunket.

“We see getting behind Plunket as essential to helping our communities prosper by assisting parents to bring up healthy children, which not only improves children’s lives, but also the wellbeing of the community. Our involvement will help Plunket to expand their parenting education programme which, given the emotional and financial realities that come with having a new baby, is vital.

“Plunket, like BNZ, covers the length and breadth of New Zealand, which is important to us because with more than 170 stores around the country, all our people will be able to support their local Plunket branch.”

Plunket is New Zealand’s largest provider of services to support the health and development of children under five, and sees more than 57,000 newborns every year. Started in 1907 by Sir Frederic Truby King, and supported by more than 8,000 volunteers today, Plunket is dedicated to working with parents and communities to ensure New Zealand children get the best start in life.