Kapuni team gets in behind local blood drive
Fonterra’s Kapuni site teamed up with NZ Blood to host a rural blood drive earlier this month, bringing the local community together to support a vital cause.
More than 30 litres of blood was donated on the day, with about 70 people donating blood - including 42 first-time donors.
The team organised a milk tanker and fire truck to be parked up at the venue and served up cheese scones and sausages for the donors.
Fonterra Kapuni’s Wellness committee member Hannah Luke says it was a team effort.
“We know every blood donation can make a life-saving difference, so it’s great to be able to organise this and bring our community together. We had amazing support from our local fire brigade, local businesses and farmers who came along to donate and make the day more special.”
“Rural Support Trust also joined us to connect with our farmers. We know this time of the season can be incredibly busy, so we’re proud to partner with them to promote mental wellbeing in our community and remind our farmers that help is always close by,” she says.
New Zealand needs more than 5000 blood and plasma donations a week. Blood donations can be used in treatments for those going through cancer, undergoing surgery, or who have been in a traumatic accident. It can also be used to help those with autoimmune disorders or bleeding disorders.
We know every blood donation can make a life-saving difference, so it’s great to be able to organise this and bring our community together.
Scott Pearce, Donor Relations Coordinator at NZ Blood Service says the Kapuni blood drive was a great way to make blood donations more accessible for rural communities.
“It was really heartwarming to see so many new donors roll up their sleeves at the Kapuni blood drive, and to reconnect with some returning donors who we hadn’t seen for a while. Our mobile drives usually only reach as far as Hāwera and Stratford, so we were really grateful for the opportunity to come to Kapuni and make blood donations more accessible for the local community.”
“The Fonterra Kapuni team was incredible to work with – they truly went above and beyond to make the day a success. There was such a great buzz throughout the day, and we were thrilled by the level of support from the whole community.”
Fonterra supports communities through its Doing Good Together programme, focusing on three pillars: putting good quality nutrition in the hands of those who need it most, providing care and support to keep rural communities strong, and empowering communities to protect and restore nature for future generations. We have ten Doing Good teams based across Aotearoa New Zealand made of up passionate Fonterra employees who actively support projects that serve the community.