Our Recipient Charities

The Salvation Army Tauranga

The Salvation Army’s mission is to care for people, transform lives and reform society. The Community Ministries centre (CM) in Tauranga provides the city and surrounds with holistic services for whanau and rangatahi to flourish and thrive with healthy relationships, homes and communities.

Services provided include social support (e.g. welfare, food and clothing, advocacy), social work support (e.g. whanau wrap around support, parenting help), counselling (e.g. therapy for distressing life situations), financial mentoring (e.g. budgeting, creditor negotiation) and community finance loans ‘Good loans’ (ethical and no interest), transitional housing, and connection to addiction and gambling treatment and support.

Salvation Army Tauranga is one of the largest recipients of the Acorn Foundation, having received annual funding since 2015. The first donation to Salvation Army Tauranga was $10,000 from the Joan Chappell-Mathias Fund. In total, this amazing fund has donated over $229,000 to Salvation Army Tauranga. In 2006, Joan was awarded the Queen's Service Order for her contribution to psychiatry and decades of voluntary community service. Distributions from Joan's fund are available for general purposes in the Western BOP. Now, thanks to the collective impact of 15 Acorn donors for the past 10 years, Salvation Army Tauranga has received nearly $500,000.

The Salvation Army’s Bridge Addictions Programme in Tauranga supports people and/or their loved ones who find alcohol, drugs or gambling a problem in their relationships and lives, providing assessment and ongoing clinical support, with a person-centred approach. The Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) assists individuals to overcome their misuse or dependencies and will utilise residential programmes and medical intervention where required. A holistic approach is taken, working within the Te Whare Tapa Wha model to consider with an individual, their Te taha hinengaro (Psychological Health), Te taha tinana (Physical Health), Te taha wairua (Spiritual Health) and Te taha whanau (Family Health). The Bridge works with people from ages seventeen onwards, with no upper age limit.

"The Tauranga Bridge addictions services provided 908 sessions to individuals affected by addiction, offering crucial support on their journey to recovery. We are incredibly grateful for the support from Acom, which plays a vital role in driving transformational change for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Your funding helps individuals struggling with poverty, hunger, addiction, and homelessness, as well as the many interconnected challenges they face." - Donna Hedley, The Salvation Army Regional Relationships Manager.