27 July 2021

    A message from the CEO

    Category

    I am proud to update you on an important donation that Fisher Funds has made this week. Fisher Funds has not sought publicity for this donation, however you are likely to hear from the charities themselves and we thought our own clients would like to know the context of these donations

    We’ve had a successful year at Fisher Funds, and are in the fortunate position to be able to give back to New Zealand, and support some of the Kiwis most in need. 

    We know that New Zealand is facing a youth mental health crisis and Covid-19 has worsened the trend over the last 18 months.  As the number of young Kiwis who need help increases, mental health services are stretched to breaking point and in need of support like never before.

    All of us at Fisher Funds, and many of our clients, are deeply concerned about these statistics and are passionate about doing our part to make a difference and provide meaningful support that allows mental health services to help more young Kiwis. 

    That’s why we’re proud to announce that we are making a one-off donation of $500,000 across two incredible charities that are helping young Kiwis dealing with mental health issues every single day – Youthline and I Am Hope.

    This support will make a real difference to the support that both organisations can provide on the ground.

    For Youthline it will enable them to support  37,000 extra contacts from young people in need through their 24/7 Helpline service, expand their Helpline Webchat services so that it is available from 10am to 10pm every day, and provide 1,154 free one-hour counselling sessions to young people across New Zealand in need of longer-term support

    For I Am Hope it will allow them to double the number of youth ambassadors they have running their in-school programme from two to four, meaning they can reach thousands more young people across the country over the next year.

    There are so many charities doing amazing work in important areas in New Zealand that deserve support. Choosing which one to support on a one-off basis like this is never easy.

    We chose Youthline and I Am Hope because of their national reach, the acute need for additional support of youth mental health services, and the wide-spread impact that mental-health issues have in our community – we all know someone who has been impacted.

    Our support is a start and we hope that it will encourage other private and public sector organisations around New Zealand to get in behind the great work these charities do in any way they can.

    This is a one-off donation reflecting the positive year that Fisher Funds has had and the acute youth mental health needs at this time. Ongoing Fisher Fund’s charitable and philanthropic efforts will remain focused through our majority owner the Toi Foundation

    Bruce McLachlan - CEO of Fisher Funds withMike King - Founder, Ambassador & Trustee of I Am Hope

    (L) Elizabeth Maddison - Youthline Business Development Manager(C) Bruce McLachlan - CEO of Fisher Funds (R) Shae Ronald - Youthline CEO