With the recent donation of 54 pairs of steel-capped boots, Keystone Trust’s Premium Partners Vincent Capital and Founders Development have helped keep students safe on work sites while building their confidence, demonstrating the broad benefits of giving in kind.
“Growing awareness of risks and safety hazards on work sites means visitors must be adequately protected by wearing personal protective equipment. This can be as simple as long pants and a high-visibility vest or as complex as gloves, eye protection and headwear,” says Amanda Stanes, Keystone Trust’s General Manager.
“As we started planning for this year’s student site visit programme – which last year saw all 51 students visit eight work sites across Aotearoa managed by sponsorship partners including Fulton Hogan, C3, Warren and Mahoney, Hawkins, and Haydn + Rollett – we realised it is becoming more difficult for students to comply with individual safety regulations.
“Personal protective equipment is a significant expense for students experiencing financial hardship, and it has become more difficult for sponsors to provide this for them amid the trust’s growing cohort,” Stanes says.
Step in Simone Horrobin, Founders Group’s General Manager of Property Development.
Hearing of this challenge, Horrobin was delighted to redirect a portion of Vincent Capital and Founders Development’s sponsorship funds to provide the 2023 students, each with a pair of steel-capped boots.
“Working with Safeworkz, who supply industry-leaders Hawkins Construction with their safety equipment, we secured fitted boots for each student – helping to keep them safe on work sites while ensuring they look the part professionally,” Stanes says.
Ms Horrobin and representatives from the two businesses presented students with their new boots at the start of the Future Leaders Workshop held in Tāmaki-Makaurau Auckland recently.
The workshop brought all 54 students from across Aotearoa together for the first time in two years. It kicked off on Friday, 10 February, with commercial real estate firm JLL’s inaugural Try for Charity event (of which Keystone Trust was the charity of choice).
Ms Horrobin says the opportunity to provide steel-capped boots for the students was a highlight of the weekend, with the footwear being gratefully received by those who will put them to good use.
“Our work with the trust has really opened our eyes to the value of giving in kind, and whether that’s through mentorship, pastoral care, professional support or donations for durables like steel-capped boots, it is wonderful to provide such meaningful support to these students that are working toward achieving their goals.
“Financial barriers, like not having the funds to afford proper safety equipment, can be a formidable obstacle for young people in the workplace and can have a broad impact on their confidence and ability to learn and perform.
“We want to support the trust’s students as they aim high and help to ensure there’s nothing holding them back from achievement,” Ms Horrobin says.
Current Keystone student and attendee at the recent Future Leaders Workshop, Safiya Hart was thrilled with her boots, noting their value as she continues her studies in landscape architecture at Lincoln University in Canterbury.
“I’ve already worn my boots while digging a drainage trench at my parent’s house in Kirwee over the weekend,” she says.
“They will be so useful for me while completing my degree, and the durability means I’ll be wearing them long after I complete my studies, I am sure,” she adds.
For further media enquiries, please contact
Amanda Stanes
Keystone Trust – General Manager
M: 021 689 380
E: amanda@keystonetrust.org.nz
Simone Horrobin
Founders Group – General Manager, Property Development
M: 021 829 112
E: simone.h@foundersgroup.co.nz
