Dozens of charities, whose revenue streams have been heavily impacted by COVID-19, are set to benefit from a new $500,000 emergency fund.

The Your West Support fund launched today by The Trusts will provide dozens of charities and community groups each with up to $10,000 to help with their operational costs while they recover financially from the impact of the level 4 lockdown.

Allan Pollard, The Trusts CEO says while the local fallout from the pandemic has been felt across the majority of Kiwi businesses, what is not immediately obvious is the impact on the thousands of organisations which perform essential roles in the community.

“We know from our contact with the charities in our local area that there is a rapidly growing need for their services.

“Every new redundancy or business closure places additional pressure on the groups in our community which provide a critical support role for individuals and whānau who have had their income severely impacted by COVID-19.

“We hope the launch of Your West Support Fund will help Kiwis get through the coming months and start to rebuild their lives,” he says.

Pollard says registered charities and incorporated societies supportive of the West Auckland community, who have had their usual funding source disrupted as a result of the recent lockdown, should contact The Trusts for funding.

He says up to three months funding is available to their organisations to cover overheads and operational costs, ensuring they have financial sustainability when they are most needed.

“Since the Level 4 lockdown began we have already given back $250,000 to health and food charities in our local region and we are hoping to increase the size of this new fund further - once we have a better picture of the full impact on the community and our own of the lockdown,” he says.

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