Good Works Trust relied on volunteer vehicles too much. Driveline already provides cargo van financing, so we donated a delivery van!
Good Works Trust is charitable trust committed to good works – just like their name says! They focus on 3 core activities…
1. Food Bank
Emergency food parcels for families in desperate need who have no capacity to access food. Recipients are referred by front-line agencies, which means the Trust has plenty of information about what the recipients need, and the food is then delivered by volunteers.
It’s quite different to the way a regular food bank operates. Sophie Gray, who runs the Good Works Trust, says “We are supplying for people who are in a crisis.”
2. School Lunch Kits
Once again, the Trust does things differently. Families are provided with a kit containing enough food to make a week’s worth of school lunches at home. The kits are distributed by local schools who determine which families should get one.
Providing a kit instead of a school meal is less stigmatising because kids come to school with lunches that look like the other kids’ lunches, made by their own parents for them at home. The kits have also succeeded in helping families avoid reaching the point of needing emergency food parcels.
3. Christmas Packs
Christmas is a time of stress and disillusionment for many who live below the breadline, a time of feeling disempowered, excluded and a failure in being able to “put on a good Christmas” for their children. This often leads to depression, family violence or feelings of alienation.
Once again, the Trust has a unique approach. It offers enough groceries, meat and produce to provide for the week of Christmas, including Christmas dinner or to take to share at a whanau gathering. All this in exchange for a pre-arranged koha (donation) of 10% of the actual cost.
They could just give it away, but Sophie Gray says it’s about giving agency, choice and dignity. Rather than receiving charity, whanau who pay a small within-their-means contribution retain their mana, have buy-in and choices.
Driveline to the rescue
When we learned about the amazing work Good Works Trust does, and how they go about it, we knew straight away we wanted to jump on board and help them out.
About three quarters of the food they distribute is bought. Sophie spends thousands of dollars a week buying basic groceries, with the balance coming from donations.
But rather than simply giving them food, we thought bigger. After all, they needed to reduce their reliance on volunteer vehicles with a delivery van, and we’re good at cargo van financing and leasing, so…
We donated a cargo van!
One week after our first conversation with Sophie, the Good Works Trust had a cargo van to use. Driveline is paying all the associated costs.
In an interview with RadioNZ, Sophie said that, “Lance’s observation to me was ‘we are doing well. Times are tough. We have been thinking that we want a way to support our local community. So we’re going to help you’. Amazing. Just an absolutely incredible thing.”
We’re super happy to be supporting The Good Works Trust and really looking forward to the whole Driveline team getting involved in helping out in the community.
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