Here are the official photos from The Warehouse :-) Media Release 9am Friday November 7, 2014 BabyLoss NZ founder wins The Warehouse Group Community Hero Award General Manager of BabyLoss NZ Sarah Numan has been awarded the inaugural national The Warehouse Community Hero Award. She will be presented with the award at this evening’s The Warehouse Group Supplier Awards & Charity Dinner at the Viaduct Event Centre in Auckland. BabyLoss NZ (formerly Sands Manukau) is a community group that provides pregnancy, baby and infant loss support services in Auckland, predominantly in Manukau. babyloss.co.nz Mrs Numan set up the service in South Auckland in 2008 and ran it from her home for four years. In 2012 with community support, the service opened its specialist care facility in Howick. With community support, Mrs Numan and her colleagues have supported around 2,000 families dealing with the loss of an unborn child or infant. Working primarily with Middlemore Hospital, the service provides around 250 care packs a year to grieving families and specializes in providing services that immediately create tangible memories for mothers and families who lose babies and infants. Ninety five percent of families supported by BabyLoss NZ have lost a child younger than one year old. However, the service has no arbitrary age limits and also supports families through the loss of infants, including cot death and driveway deaths. Mrs Numan says the service has never received government funding, and relies upon community support. The service also provides support to parents of early loss infants (under 12 weeks), of which there are around 10,000 a year in New Zealand. Mrs Numan said the demand for the services of BabyLoss NZ and similar groups were huge and growing. She said she hoped winning the award would help raise awareness for the service and for the needs of parents and families dealing with pregnancy baby and infant loss. Executive General Manager For Community & Environment at The Warehouse, Paul Walsh, said that the Community Hero Award celebrates the work of all those who contribute to community organisations. “It’s humbling to acknowledge the contributions of individuals throughout New Zealand who make an incredible difference to our communities,” he said. “The contribution made by Sarah and her dedicated group in the lives of New Zealanders impacted by terrible loss is truly inspiring.” The Warehouse Community Hero Awards, launched this year, selected nine regional award winners, nominated from community organisations that The Warehouse supports. Each The Warehouse store selects three charities or community organisations every six months to receive the money the store receives from its 10c per-bag charge. The Warehouse’s Bags for Good programme has resulted in both a significant reduction in the use of plastic bags, as well as last year raising nearly $500,000 nationally for over 500 community groups. Community Hero Award nominees came from community groups with whom The Warehouse has worked in each region. Mr Walsh said that store managers at The Warehouse’s 92 stores nationwide had reported that narrowing-down nominations, and choosing nine regional winners, was one of their hardest tasks this year, given the quality of people involved in the company’s neighbourhood partnerships. “It’s important to acknowledge the individuals involved and to celebrate a recipient of the national award, but it’s really a ‘thank you’ to many people right across the country for their contribution on behalf of our communities,” he said. The Warehouse Group in financial year 2014 facilitated community contributions of more than $3.5 million through national, regional and local community partnerships, said Mr Walsh. Mrs Numan will be presented with her award at this evening’s The Warehouse Group Supplier Awards & Charity Dinner, a 1000-seat, black tie dinner and one of the country’s biggest charity events. Last year’s dinner raised just over $590,000 for Variety – The Children’s Charity for its ‘Technology for Learning’ programme. Tonight’s dinner will raise funds for ‘Today’s Youth, Tomorrows Future’, the Salvation Army’s The Aspire Kiwi Youth Development Programme, an innovative year-long project designed to strengthen vulnerable young people and their families across New Zealand through a comprehensive programme of personal development. BabyLoss NZ receives a $1,500 The Warehouse gift card in recognition of Ms Numan’s national award. All regional winners receive a $500 gift card for their community organization.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 03:30:42 +0000
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