Other big-ticket donations this year include href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/christmas-appeal-donations-flow-for-week-three-with-one-charity-gifting-20000/GZOQYVOF6JBV3OHUFSNRHXBTAI/" target="_blank">$20,000 from the Hillsdene Charitable Trust, three donations of $5000, and one of $4000.
The foodbank spent $20,012 on average per month on staple food items, meaning Synergy Technologies’ donation will feed the community for two weeks.
The company’s owners AJ McKean and Rachel McKean have donated 10 per cent of all operating profits back into the community since they started operating eight-and-a-half years ago.
More than $560,000 has been donated since then, including up to $60,000 this year and $30,000 this month alone in the lead-up to Christmas.
Other charities the Mount Maunganui-based business supported this month included Youth Encounter Ministries Trust and Good Neighbour.
But AJ McKean said the contributions felt like “a small piece to a much bigger need” with the cost-of-living crisis.
McKean said, as an organisation, the charity donations positively impacted staff and created “a culture of giving back”.
“Watching them catch that vision and dream as they journey with us has been amazing,” he said.
AJ McKean, owner of Synergy Technologies, and Tauranga Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin. The company has donated $10,000 to the foodbank Christmas Appeal. Photo / Alex Cairns
He said he could see the generosity mirrored in the way the staff provided services to others.
“They are going, ‘It’s not just about me but what is happening and how can I help?’”
It also brought a sense of purpose to the workplace and when there were difficult days, the donations were the highlight for the team.
“It’s the bit that we wake up and go, this is why we’re doing what we’re doing,” McKean said.
He said the desire to donate was also driven by a feeling of “home” he had for Tauranga and wanting to leave a legacy for his children.
“Now the challenge is to engage with the wider business community because there is a need for them to all get on board.”
Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin said she was “so excited” to hear about the donation.
Tauranga Community Foodbank manager Nicki Goodwin welcomes the support of businesses such as Synergy Technologies.. Photo / Alex Cairns
“I’m a big believer in ‘it takes a village’ and if there weren’t businesses like Synergy and there wasn’t the public giving, our city would look very different,” said Goodwin.
