While the Mitre 10 Helping Hands Project Playground programme is usually run as a joint effort by the national Support Centre and stores, this playground giveaway was a direct initiative from the team at Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton. “We’ve previously given away prizes like boats or barbecues that benefit just one person. This is something that will support the community’s children for the next 20-25 years, and I think that’s pretty special,” explains Jess Fearnley, Chief Support Officer at Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton

Since Project Playground aims to enrich the community, the store felt they should let the community drive the selection for the winning school. “We wanted to ensure it wasn’t just our opinion. We wanted the community to decide, as doing something for the community is the whole reason for this project,” says Corban Fray, Marketing Coordinator at Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton.

After a call for entries from local schools with playgrounds in need of an upgrade, judges from Mitre 10 and supplier Playground People worked together to determine where the new play space could have the biggest impact. Current state of play facilities, roll size, and impact on the wider community were factored into decisions. From there, entries were narrowed down to four finalists: Fairfield Primary School, Ngāruawāhia Primary School, Rhode Street School, and Whatawhata School. 

Public voting opened following the finalist announcement and Mitre 10 customers from across Waikato who spent $20 or more in-store, could cast a vote for their preferred school. With perspex voting boxes displaying how the four schools were tracking, the election whipped up quite a buzz, and got customers and Mitre 10 team members invested in the outcome. The schools got right into the spirit of things, rallying communities to get in and vote through word of mouth, social media, and even a weekend visit to store to show customers why they deserved their votes.

Whatawhata were well in the lead when voting closed, the result of a huge effort to win their tamariki the fantastic prize worth over $90,000. The Mitre 10 MEGA team dropped into the school assembly to surprise them with the news, and the kids erupted with excitement, with a few parents and teachers shedding tears. A beautiful waiata from the tamariki in response made for a special moment for all involved.

Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton worked with Playground People and the school to design a space that would cater to the juniors, who had sadly had their playground demolished for safety reasons a year earlier. The build began early May, and the playground opened 24 May. 

The opening had the school community buzzing. Following a blessing by the local Kaumātua, waiatas and speeches, the kids could barely contain themselves during the countdown before charging the playground. School Principal Rob Gunn said "the opening of our new playground is a milestone achievement for our kura and community. We are very thankful that Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton had a big enough heart to give back, and we’re so thankful to all who supported us to make this happen, especially our school PTA. We truly now have the best playground in Whatawhata."

We’re incredibly proud of the amazing team at Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton, not just for their mahi delivering this fantastic space for the school, but for getting their whole community involved. It just goes to show that when a community comes together, everyone benefits.

About Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton Project Playground

Mitre 10 MEGA Hamilton is proud to support our local community, and to help develop and build better, stronger more resilient Kiwi Kids, we launched our local Project Playground campaign in 2023. After a call for entries and initial selection of four finalist schools, we asked our customers to vote for the school they thought deserved to win a brand new playground!

After over 23,000 votes were cast at our Te Rapa & Ruakura stores, we were proud to announce Whatawhata School as the winner. They submitted a compelling entry, showcasing their need for a junior playground after theirs was demolished 12 months earlier due to serious health & safety concerns. While they have a senior playground, it’s really challenging for junior students to use, and was designed for a school that was half the roll size at the time. Whatawhata also has no other playground in their community, so all local kids will benefit from the new play space.

A big thanks to all the schools, the local community and our customers for engaging in this campaign. And a shout-out of thanks to Playground People, the experts who designed and manufactured the epic new playground that will provide years of fun for the students and community of Whatawhata. Check out the Playground People website to see more of their incredible work, including other playgrounds with Mitre 10!