One winner turns into three for free sparky and plumber help in Queenstown

Level Group ANZ, a membership organisation for independent electricians and plumber trades, has tripled its offer of help to Queenstown at its annual conference this year.

As part of its annual conference, Level Group is sending 50 of its attendees to help a community group in Queenstown with any general trades jobs that need to be done.

“We put a call out to Queenstown based community groups to nominate themselves for the help, and had a lot of interest”’ says Level Group NZ GM Matt Davies “Luckily, we had the support of Jennifer Belmont at Wakatipu Community Foundation to spread the word. Jennifer joined our judging panel - along with Brent and Megan Christie and Jason and Sonja Weeks, Level Members and Local Impact 2024 Project Managers. They were each instrumental in helping us arrive at who should benefit from the help”

From the submissions, the intent was for the judging panel to choose three organisations for the short list, and then our Members would choose their favourite from the three.

“Our Members' generosity is out of this world” says Matt. “We asked our people to choose one organisation to win, but they struggled with that, and the overwhelming response from most of them was asking if we could just help all three organisations on our short list”

“So that’s what we’re going to do”

The three winning organisations are:

Baskets of Blessings - Volunteers coordinate generous donations to deliver unexpected gift baskets and food to individuals and families suddenly struggling from unexpected life challenges. Established in 1990, Baskets of Blessings has recently escalated to now distribute over 500 gift baskets yearly and up to 3,000 free frozen meals a month.

Central Lakes Family Services - Provides a range of social services, including information, advocacy, counselling and programmes to support families and individuals experiencing family violence, sexual harm, mental well-being challenges and parenting and perinatal issues. Also provides Ministry of Justice-approved adult safety and non-violence programmes.

Wakatipu Play Centre - Here both children and parents/caregivers attend. Activities change daily as parents bring different skills, interests, and cultural backgrounds to add to the rich learning environment. Welcoming children aged 0–6 years, mixed-age play allows children to engage with others, older and younger. Families come together here, and lifelong friendships are formed, creating thriving, connected communities.

“We’re excited to help make a difference to these three organisations. The work we’re doing is what you’d know us for - electrical and plumbing - but one of our projects is setting up a tradie corner for our littlest apprentices at Wakatipu Play Centre - it’s gonna be great!”

Wakatipu Community Foundation CEO Jennifer Belmont says “The crew at Level Group really are something else. I'm delighted with the news that they have selected all three shortlisted applicants to receive the help. It’s been such a pleasure to work alongside them so far and I can’t wait to see the finished results at the end of the tradie day.”

Luke McCallum, Level ANZ Managing Director added "Our members are praised for their regular support of their home communities. This time, they get to support three outstanding organisations in the beautiful Queenstown region. It's going to be a great conference."

The Level Group crew will be in Queenstown for the tradie day and conference from 4-7 September.