A $350,000 gesture of confidence in the community by a single New Zealand business has given a big hand-up to community groups in a Wellington suburb. It has also helped revitalise the main street.
First National Group NZ Limited’s agency Collective First National in Johnsonville observed the effect Covid-19 had on the community, and asked people in their local area how they could help. They found a number of local groups and charities had a real need for free space they could use, because they could not afford to rent.
With that in mind, The Collective Community Hub, fully-funded by Collective First National, was established as a community venue. It could well be the only privately developed, community space offered free to groups in the country.
The Collective Community Hub is a 280 square metre, single storey, commercial space, leased and fitted-out by Collective First National. It is offered at no cost to over 1000 local groups so far who book to use it. To date, those groups have met for fundraising, meetings, get togethers, events, and charitable business operations. Free classes such as for yoga and kick boxing, are also run from the Hub. Wifi, tea, coffee, heating and cooling, boardrooms, sitting areas, projector and screens are all free to users.
“A lot of businesses in Johnsonville closed down in the wake of Covid-19,” says Gareth Robins, co-owner of Collective First National, the real estate agency responsible for developing the hub. “There are ‘for lease’ signs down the main street. We wanted to help revitalise our community, and genuinely wanted to give them a hand up in the wake of the virus. That same community supported our business throughout 2020 and for years before. It’s not so much philanthropy as a meaningful gesture of real ‘thanks’.”
Nicola Swan, founder of the Swan Nest, started a charity in memory of her child, James, who died when he was five years old. She has used The Collective Community Hub to provide music therapy to children who are also facing complex health issues or terminal diagnoses.
“What an amazing facility!” she says. “One family burst into tears at how incredible it was. The families in The Swan Nest are raving about it. Their spirits are visibly lifted by it. Children who came in quiet at first are now talking; they’re gaining confidence.”
“The Collective Community Hub has a standard that’s really high. Nothing is unthought of. It has an incredible kitchen, private rooms, tables for families to wait at if they don’t want to accompany their children into therapy. It’s incredibly welcoming. There’s even a disability toilet which actually fits a wheelchair – many facilities are labelled for wheelchairs but don’t fit them.”
The Hub has an annual operating budget of $200,000, also fully funded by Collective First National Real Estate. This includes a part-time co-ordinator, Tracy Hurst-Porter, who is experienced in the running of community facilities.
The official opening of The Collective Community Hub is at 6pm, Friday 28 May 2021
Address: 33 Johnsonville Road
The Hub will be opened by two members of the community who were chosen by the community to do the job because they work helping others for free.
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