Home Sweet Habitat

For immediate release April 24, 2003

HOME SWEET HABITAT

Staff from Avondale-based Novartis New Zealand will be going hammer and tongs on Monday (eds: 28 April) as they help to build a house for a local Massey family.

Forty staff members will work onsite throughout the day at Habitat for Humanity Waitakere's latest project in Royal Road, Massey.

Andrew Moore, managing director Novartis, says the company chose this project for its Community Partnership Day because it symbolised the reasons behind the annual event.

"Our commitment to social responsibility forms an integral part of our company's philosophy. By sharing our resources we believe we can make a difference in the world and help to strengthen community ties," said Mr Moore. "Each year, every Novartis company around the world donates time and manpower to their local community in some way.

"We have been very impressed with Habitat for Humanity Waitakere. It's creating an incredibly important legacy for West Aucklanders and Novartis is proud to assist it in this way."

In addition to the time spent by Novartis staff at the house building site, the company is donating $5,000 worth of building materials for the project.

Alan Broadbent, chairman Habitat for Humanity Waitakere, says Novartis has been extremely generous.

"Our organisation runs solely on the energy of volunteers and donations. When I visited the staff at Novartis, I was very impressed by the spirit of goodwill shown by them towards Habitat and our work."

Habitat for Humanity is an international organisation that builds homes for needy families with volunteer labour and donated funds and materials. Habitat for Humanity Waitakere has built homes for four West Auckland families over the past four years.

The Novartis Community Partnership Day marks the worldwide merger of parent companies, Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy, seven years ago. In 2002, more than 14,000 Novartis employees from 50 countries took part.

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