Partnering to make a difference in our communities
in Community Partnerships
Author: People and Culture
2875
We’re excited to announce that we have begun a new journey to be more active in our communities in partnership with two inspirational organisations working for the greater good – Conservation Volunteers New Zealand and Kura Kai.
AsureQuality is a team of over 1700 dedicated people, deeply connected to our partners across the food and primary production sectors, offering the broadest range of food assurance services in New Zealand. We are spread throughout the country and are driven by our Purpose / Aronga of helping Aotearoa shape a better food world.
“Being active in the communities where our people and our customers live and work is one of our key foundations” says Kim Ballinger, CEO at AsureQuality. “Our people are passionate about this and have been supporting their communities in many ways over the years, but we want to do better. With a focus on two organisations which align with our Purpose, we believe that we can make a bigger impact in the communities we serve.”
As Kaitiaki Kai, guardians of food, we have a deep responsibility to do the right thing for food and the environments it comes from. Our people do this through collaboration and sharing of knowledge, resources, and skills so that everyone benefits – not just in the immediate future but for generations to come. Through these two new partnerships, we’ll be sharing our time, skills and expertise in food, food safety, ecological restoration, and our environment, while contributing to the wellbeing of people and our communities.
Via our Employee Volunteer Programme, we provide paid leave so our people can donate a day of their time to help one of our partner organisations. With over 1700 people spread throughout Aotearoa this equates to over 13,600 hours available for us to make a real difference in our communities.
Conservation Volunteers New Zealand(external link) works with local communities, government agencies and the business sector to manage environmental restoration projects across Aotearoa. Their mission is to inspire change by connecting people with nature. We have chosen to partner with Conservation Volunteers New Zealand as their values align closely with our focus on caring for our environment. With our people, our expertise in this area, and our resources we will support their mission of strengthening the health of communities and ecosystems for mutual benefit.
Siobhan O’Grady, Strategic Partnerships Manager of Conservation Volunteers New Zealand says “Our team are excited to welcome AsureQuality as a partner. Their people are passionate about our work and bring some great expertise which will help us towards our objective of a healthy diverse and sustainably managed environment.”
Kura Kai(external link) donate chest freezers to high schools around Aotearoa, utilising community volunteers to cook family meals to keep in the freezers, which are then distributed by the schools to those in need. Kura Kai’s key value is Manaakitanga, generosity and care for others, with a simple kaupapa of “Whānau cooking for Whānau.” We have chosen to partner with Kura Kai, as their values align closely with our Purpose of helping Aotearoa shape a better food world. With our people, time, and resources we can support their mission of providing nutritious meals for rangatahi and whānau across Aotearoa.
“We’re looking forward to working closely with AsureQuality’s people to help us foster manaakitanga amongst our rangatahi and reach more of the people who need support in our communities.” says Makaia Carr, founder of Kura Kai.
Working with these two amazing organisations will bring AsureQuality’s people closer to the communities we work in and we’re looking forward to sharing our experiences as we move forward together on this exciting journey.