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Bunnings - Community
Bunnings has a longstanding commitment to supporting the communities in which it operates. Bunnings engages with and supports local communities through facilitated fundraising opportunities, such as community sausage sizzles, product and gift card donations, and hands-on D.I.Y. support in the community such as painting and garden makeovers.
During the year, COVID-19 continued to have a significant impact on Bunnings’ ability to deliver grassroots community activities as planned. Notwithstanding this, Bunnings helped raise and contribute over $27.4 million through more than 51,000 community activities.
While traditional areas of community support such as the community sausage sizzles were temporarily unavailable, Bunnings adapted quickly to find innovative ways to connect with the community. To ensure groups who had planned sausage sizzles could find other ways to fundraise, donations of $500 gift cards were made to more than 1,300 community groups, representing over $650,000 in total.
Given the cancellation of in-store fundraising activities, Bunnings looked to alternative ways to support key groups that depend on this activity. For example, in June 2020 Bunnings donated $150,000 to Telethon in Western Australia. Held annually in October, Telethon raises vital funds to support medical research in childhood diseases, conditions and issues.
In commemoration of National Police Remembrance Day, Bunnings donated over $300,000 to Police Legacy charities across Australia and New Zealand. Charities supported included the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Foundation, the New Zealand Police Association Police Families Charitable Trust and other Police legacy charities in every state and territory across Australia.
Instore fundraising recommenced towards the end of 2020, which allowed Bunnings stores to support Remembrance Day poppy sales and Christmas fundraising, such as the selling of Scouts Christmas trees and Lions Christmas cakes.
Team members across the network took part in the 'Dry July' fundraiser raising money for the Dry July Foundation, which supports people affected by cancer. This was part of a safety and wellness campaign encouraging the team to go alcohol-free in July and raised over $110,000. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Bunnings’ support for the Starlight Foundation’s Tour de Kids initiative looked a little different this year, with team member fundraising replacing a bike ride and grassroots support in Alice Springs. Throughout September 2020, team members across Australia cycled over 35,000 kilometres in their local community to raise over $58,000 for Starlight, which helps brighten the lives of seriously ill children and their families in Australia.
The Australian team supported Share the Dignity’s 'It’s in the Bag' campaign for the fourth consecutive year. Over two weeks, more than 127,000 bags of personal hygiene products were collected for women and girls experiencing homelessness and domestic violence.
In New Zealand, Bunnings supported the 'I Got Your Back Pack' campaign with customers and team members invited to donate toiletries and gifts to support families in refuges as a result of domestic violence.
Throughout the year, Bunnings team members continued to maintain their support of local community groups through an internal competition called 'Challenge Accepted'. The competition involved a series of five challenges, including dancing, singing and sharing stories of kindness. The team was invited to post their entries on Workplace, an internal social media platform, with the winning teams donating funds to a local charity of their choice, resulting in more than 190 community groups receiving contributions totalling over $570,000.
In May and June 2021, Bunnings supported the FightMND 'Big Freeze' campaign for the third consecutive year, with beanies for sale in all Australian stores and trade centres. In total, Bunnings raised and contributed over $1.1 million to FightMND to support efforts to find a cure for motor neurone disease.
In line with COVID-19 restrictions easing throughout the year, Bunnings brought back a number of community activities, such as the community sausage sizzles, hands-on community projects and instore workshops. Returning to local grassroots community support will continue to be a focus in the coming financial year.
