Two Tairāwhiti winners in Rabobank’s Community Hub competition

Mark Chrystall, chairman of the Rabobank lower North Island client council, was rapt with the number of entries in the Community Hub competition. Tiniroto Community Hall and Nūhaka Sports and Recreation Club were among the 20 winners.

Rabobank has announced the 20 winners nationally of its Community Hub competition and two of them are from Tairāwhiti.

Winners will each receive $5000 to improve their facilities.

The competition, which ran throughout March, was open to rural community halls, clubrooms and marae across New Zealand and attracted well over 500 entries.

The winners in this region were Tiniroto Community Hall and Nūhaka Sports and Recreation Club.

Running for the first time, the competition was developed by Rabobank after its client council network identified the vital role rural community halls, clubrooms and marae played in providing a suitable location for rural communities to come together.

The $100,000 total prize money for the competition will be drawn from the Rabo Community Fund – a fund set up in 2021 and backed by an annual contribution from the Rabobank Group.

The funding will be used by competition winners for work that improves the interior or exterior of their nominated hall, clubrooms or marae.

Mark Chrystall, chairman of the Rabobank lower North Island client council, said it was fantastic to see the competition attract so many entries.

“We know halls, clubrooms and marae are incredibly important for rural communities, and we expected there would be plenty of interest in the competition,” he said.

“But we were blown away by the volume of entries that came in, and I think this really illustrates just how many community hubs there are out there across rural New Zealand which are in need of a bit of funding support.”