MINI is supporting Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai for the second consecutive Christmas to spread big love and cheer among those most in need this festive season.
The Mission, which has been helping Aucklanders since 1920, supports people throughout the year needing access to a home, food and health care. And, over the festive season the team provides food and gifts to many thousands of people who otherwise may not have been able to celebrate Christmas.
This year, a Christmas elf packed a decorated MINI Countryman Hybrid full of hand selected gifts donated by MINI and its employees, and delivered them to Auckland City Mission on Wednesday, 14th December.
Says Helen Robinson, CEO & Manutaki of Auckland City Mission, “We truly appreciate MINI’s kind help to provide gifts for children who would otherwise go without this Christmas. Many people in our community are struggling to make ends meet, from the disruption and impact of the last couple of years and the current cost of living increases, so there are many who still need support.”
Commenting on the initiative, Leanne Blanckenberg, Head of Corporate Communications, BMW Group New Zealand said, “We wanted to support Auckland City Mission and the work they do again this year. We heard the biggest gap in donated presents is suitable gifts for teenagers and whole families to enjoy, so we offered to help towards making Christmas a little brighter for 100 children, teenagers and families.”
In addition to supporting Auckland City Mission, MINI also worked closely with Whitecliffe, one of New Zealand’s top creative colleges, to host a student competition to design a Christmas-inspired decal for the MINI Countryman Hybrid to deliver the gifts to the charity.
The students submitted varied designs celebrating the culture of New Zealand and the festive season and George Ballad’s design which features jandals, ferns, strawberries and the MINI logo was selected as the winning entry.
Leanne Blanckenberg added, “MINI is a cosmopolitan brand that is all about big love – two small words with big power to inspire a world of positive action. We wanted to continue the tradition we started last year and reach out and share MINI’s big love by connecting people together and bringing excitement to those in need this Christmas.”
To find out more about Auckland City Mission and how to donate, visit https://www.aucklandcitymission.org.nz/.
