Community Projects Wanted For Mitre 10 Helping Hands

To kick off its new nationwide community support programme, Mitre 10 Helping Hands is on the hunt for deserving local projects. New Zealand’s most trusted home improvement retailer is asking kiwis to nominate DIY projects in their community that need a bit of a helping hand.

Maybe the school playground is on the slide, the local rugby club needs a new deck, or a community garden needs rescuing from the brink of oblivion. Mitre 10 Helping Hands provides practical hands-on help with community builds, do-ups or makeovers – anything that would benefit from a bit of DIY know-how and some muscle to get the job done right.

While no job is too big or small, it’s really a very small job to nominate a project – just a short submission form on the Mitre 10 website: https://www.mitre10.co.nz/helpinghands. Nominations close 9 August and projects will be shortlisted for public online voting 12-19 August. The winning project(s) will be announced 24 August and completed by 20 September – no point in mucking around!

This is just the beginning, however – Mitre 10 Helping Hands is a permanent ongoing initiative that will see many projects around the country benefit from some enthusiastic local support. It’s all about supporting kiwis and their communities. The concept is not new though, it actually began in Nelson four years ago, and Mitre 10 stores all over the country have been helping their communities for a lot longer than that.

The genesis of Mitre 10 Helping Hands

The concept originated at Mitre 10 MEGA Nelson when CEO Brandon Beveridge came up with a novel way to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Looking to give something back to the local community, Brandon came up with 10+10+10 – 10 community projects involving 10 volunteers for 10 hours. Word got around and the initiative snowballed, becoming so successful that the Nelson team didn’t stop at 10, they just kept going. And now it’s going national.

A couple of projects in, Community Engagement Manager Murray Leaning came up with the Helping Hands name and has been developing and delivering it ever since. Murray says the projects benefit everyone involved, not just the recipients, and he hopes to inspire others to do more.

“Our biggest learning over the years is that community projects knit communities together. Our team members get so much out of volunteering their time and energy to help people in our community that we now have waiting lists for upcoming projects. And it’s not just our team. Our suppliers and local trade customers are knocking on the door wanting to know when the next one is happening. Even our customers get involved – one lady brought freshly baked scones along to one project for morning tea for our volunteers!”

Mitre 10 New Zealand’s Chief of Customer Marketing & Inspiration, Jules Lloyd-Jones, says Mitre 10 Helping Hands demonstrates what happens when people come together to help each other.

“Getting stuck in and making a difference creates bonds within communities and a sense of belonging. All our stores are locally owned; they get behind hundreds of initiatives each year supporting local schools, clubs, charities and other not-for-profit groups.

“With Mitre 10 Helping Hands, Murray’s idea has gone national and it unites all our community support efforts under one banner. As a co-operative, we’re proud of our work to help our communities love where they live, work and play.”

Key launch activation dates:

22 July-9 Aug: Call for nominations

12-19 Aug: Public voting on shortlisted projects

24 Aug: Successful projects announced

20 Sep: Projects completed

Mitre 10 Helping Hands Video: https://youtu.be/OfCw4VM77_0

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