Community Centres: Strengthening the Western Bay of Plenty
Community centres across the Western Bay of Plenty serve as vital hubs that transform neighbourhoods through their profound local impact, creating spaces where diverse residents find connection, support, and shared purpose.
The Acorn Foundation sees huge value in supporting community centres because of their ability to back a range of initiatives. Around 75% of Acorn’s annual distributions go to charities named by donors through gifts in wills, recipients chosen each year by living-giving donors, or pass-through giving by giving circles, corporates, workplace schemes, trusts and individuals. The remaining 25%, our field-of-interest and unrestricted funds, cover grants to local organisations, with 150 applications received this year, nearly double the number from two years ago. The community centres found across the Western Bay of Plenty are particularly well-targeted grants, as they provide an enormous range of services to locals in their neighbourhoods.
Community centres that Acorn supports include Katikati Community Centre, Merivale Community Centre, The Hub Te Puke and Welcome Bay Community Centre.
“Our community centres are gems: open doors for all, welcoming and assisting local people at a grassroots level, often unrecognised but so essential, and the number of people accessing their services and resources is climbing. No other organisations are offering the range of services to the number of people as our local community centres, and they need the help of the wider community.” - Jo Wilson, Scholarships & Community Engagement Specialist, Acorn Foundation.
One of the most sought-after services they provide is food support. Food insecurity is a significant issue in Tauranga, affecting many individuals and families, especially those with low incomes, those with large families or those who are experiencing homelessness. Good Neighbour’s food-rescue team collects food that is good enough to eat but not good enough to sell and redistributes it to local community organisations. Katikati Community Centre has teamed up with Good Neighbour to provide Katikati locals with food parcels three times a week.
Merivale Community Centre serves as a hub to bring together the support and information that people need in a safe, non-judgemental environment.
A range of social services and programmes are currently provided from the centre to support the Merivale community and beyond, including whānau support, after-school and school-holiday programmes, youth nights and mentoring. Community food parcels and a range of programmes are delivered by social agencies.
The Hub Te Puke is a welcoming and safe community space which fosters a sense of belonging and strengthens relationships.
The Hub understands the challenges of juggling bill payments and being able to put food on the table for whānau. Their food bank provides quality food parcels for families and individuals who need support. This includes supporting other community groups like Ngā Kākano Foundation by sharing rescued food to help keep their pātaka kai (open pantry) stocked. The Hub also has a specialist team of social workers who offer free support and advocacy. Anyone is welcome to pop in and see them during their opening hours.
Welcome Bay Community Centre has a strong emphasis on inclusivity and empowerment, and is a valuable resource, promoting wellbeing and fostering a sense of belonging among its residents. The centre is a vibrant space where residents find an offering of diverse programmes from budget advisory services and food support to yoga classes and community gatherings.
As demand for these services continues to grow, community centres remain the unsung heroes, creating stronger, more resilient neighbourhoods, one connection at a time.