Our community

Putting the Heart in ‘Wild at Heart’, our sponsorships show our passion towards the many organisations and people supporting and inspiring our community.

Our community articles

  • Kate McIlroy

    Wellington Airport is very excited to be a new sponsor of Wellington Triathlete Kate McIlroy.

    Kate had a top 10 finish at the London Olympics last year, and is currently ranked 4th in the world. She's now focusing on racing in the 2013 ITU World Triathlon Series - eight cities in four continents, over five months! We love Kate's passion and determination, and wish her all the best for the season in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games next year!

  • Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards

    Wellington Airport joins forces with Wellington Community Trust each year to recognise voluntary organisations that do so much to make our community a better place. These awards provide a way for people in the community to say thank you, as well as allowing those within the organisation to nominate their group to receive a reward for all their hard work. Wellington Airport recognises the value of volunteers and their work in strengthening the community.

    The community awards are first held in the five council regions Kapiti, Porirua, Hutt City, Lower Hutt and Wellington city, then winners from these regions attend the regional award ceremony at Wellington Airport.

    Nominations for the 2013 Wellington Airport Community Awards are now open.

    2012 Supreme Winner - Kaibosh Food Rescue

    Kaibosh is New Zealand’s first dedicated food rescue organization. They coordinate with local food retailers to collect food that while good to eat, is no longer deemed suitable for sale. They then coordinate with other local community groups to identify where food is needed and what sort of food is most suitable and distribute this to them accordingly.

    Because volunteers collect and distribute daily, Kaibosh can deal with food not traditionally found in a food bank (such as fresh fruit and vegetables, breads and baked goods).

    Since its inception in August 2008, Kaibosh has rescued over 157,000 meals / 55,000 kg of food and redistributed where it’s needed most in the community.

    Kaibosh is good for our community, the environment and the businesses who work with sustainability and social justice values in mind.

    Kaibosh went on to represent the Wellington region at the TrustPower National Community Awards in March 2013 and took out the Supreme Award. Congratulations Kaibosh! 

    The 2012 Category Award winners are:

    Arts and Culture: Pablos Art Studio 
    Education and Child/Youth Development: Orongomai Marae
    Health and Wellbeing: Kaibosh Food Rescue
    Heritage and Environment: Wellington Marine Conservation Charitable Trust
    Sport and Leisure: Special Olympics Wellington

    Find out more about all the 2012 winners.

    Historical Supreme Winners

    2011 - Mana Recovery
    2010 - Naenae Youth Charitable Trust for Billy Graham Boxing Academy
    2009 - Computer Access New Zealand Trust
    2008 - Kotuku Music Academy Support Trust
    2007 - Hutt Playcentre Association
    2006 - Porirua Arts Council for Porirua Festival of the Elements 
    2005 - WellTrust 
    2004 - Shakespeare Globe Company New Zealand

    View clip about the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards.

  • Worser Bay Life Saving Club

     

    Worser Bay Life Saving Club is a family orientated club who welcome participation from all ages. Club activities include sea swimming, board training, surf competitions and carnivals, along with life guard teams and training and IRB driver programmes. 

    Wellington Airport have been proud sponsor of Worser Bay Life Saving Club for many years. Our Life Guard Development Fund assists the club to provide training opportunities and resources.

  • Gold Awards

     

    The Wellington Gold Awards in association with The Dominion Post celebrate the excellence and enterprise of business in the Wellington Region. They showcase of our business talent and capability and pay tribute to those who are building our community. 

    We're back at the awards this year sponsoring the category we were thrilled to win in 2007 – Vibrant Gold, which spotlights the best in hospitality, events, promotions and visitor facilities in Wellington.

    Who will join past Vibrant Gold winners; Adrenalin Forest (2012), Boomrock (2011), World of Wearable Arts (2010), Matterhorn (2009), The New Dowse (2008) and La Bella Italia (2006)?

  • Visa Wellington On a Plate

    Visa Wellington On a Plate (9 - 25 August 2013) is Wellington's tasty culinary festival, serving up great deals and gastronomic good times.  Whether it's enjoying a craft beer at Beervana, indulging at The Chocolate Festival or a experiencing a 5 course wild food degustation meal, there’s something to tempt everyone’s taste buds! Wellington Airport are excited to sponsor the festival, and celebrate the best of Wellington dining!

  • Wellington Phoenix

     

    Wellington Airport is proud to sponsor the Wellington Phoenix. We love to support our community, especially those groups who are as ‘Wild at Heart’ as we are.

    The Phoenix is Wellington’s much loved football team that everyone is wild about supporting. During hype of the games, supporters of all ages join the buzz of yellow fever. It is a great game to watch with a diverse collection of families, party animals and as well as Wellingtonians who enjoy a fun atmosphere

  • Life Flight Trust

     


    The team at Wellington Airport is proud to provide Life Flight Trust with financial assistance to support the service’s operations, making your donations to the Trust go further. With Life Flight Trust’s Air Rescue Centre based at Wellington Airport, we see first hand the vital service the team at Life Flight Trust provides our community. Through our support of rescue services and the Life Flight Trust, our rescue teams are working together to save lives. 

  • Wellington High Performance Aquatics

     

    Principal Sponsor

    Wellington High Performance Aquatics (WHiPA) is a training centre established to develop youth involved in aquatic sports to achieve at international levels. The foundation sport was diving, now joined by swimming and support of surf life saving and triathlon atheletes, with further aquatic disciplines to follow as the centre continues to grow.

  • World of WearableArt™ Awards Show

     

    Wellington Airport is proud to be a key supporter in Brancott Estate World of WearableArt™ Awards Show Wellington campaign because the very concept of WOW™ embodies perfectly the 'Wild at Heart' atmosphere engendered by Wellington Airport. WOW™ is a homegrown creative concept, and begun in Nelson in 1988 with a small show in a wool shed! Since then it has grown to an extravaganza of creativity held over two weekends. 2005 was the first year for WOW to be held here in Wellington.

  • Marine Education Centre

    Wellington Airport has been a long time supporter of the Marine Education Centre project. You can find out more information about Wellington Marine Education Conservation Trust and Education Centre, and when their next interactive Open Day is through their website: http://www.octopus.org.nz/

  • Wild at Heart Spirit Awards

    The Wild at Heart Spirit Awards are presented annually by Wellington Airport to a Year 13 student from each of the five local colleges. The awards recognise and celebrate students who believe in the importance of community - and are self-motivated and selfless. Spirit Awardees demonstrate a broad contribution to their college during their time there as a student. They develop good relationships, treat others with respect and concern, go out of their way to give service to their school or community projects, and are good ambassadors for their college. The recipients receive a scholarship of $1500 towards furthering their education.

    The winners of the 2012 Wild at Heart Spirit Awards are:
    Rongotai College - James Bibby
    St Catherine’s College - Tessa Murphy
    St Patrick’s College - Janek Chmielewski
    Scots College - Ben Guerin
    Wellington East Girls’ College - Roshni Parbhu

  • New Zealand International Arts Festival

     

    The New Zealand International Arts Festival is New Zealand’s premier cultural event and a leading multi-arts festival in Australasia.  The Festival has an esteemed reputation among artists and audiences for bringing the very best from around the globe to Aotearoa, New Zealand.

    Every two years Wellington transforms into one of the world’s great festival cities. For 24 days, its easily accessible theatres, concert halls, museums, galleries and open spaces come alive with theatre, dance and music, literature, film and visual arts.

    Wellington Airport has a long partnership with the NZ International Arts Festival and are proud to continue our support for the exciting 2014 festival. We enjoy welcoming the many visitors from around the country and the world to Wellington's doorstep in February!

    Image: Grupo Corpo Onqoto image José Luiz Pederneiras

  • Surf Life Saving

    Wellington Airport have been long-time supporters of Surf Life Saving Clubs in the Eastern Suburbs. Recently we've supported Maranui Surf Life Saving Club with equipment, sponsored a Lifeguard Support and Development programme with Worser Bay Life Saving Club, and assisted the Special Needs Surfing Experience get off the ground.

  • Refugee Services

     

    Each year, the New Zealand government selects 750 refugees for resettlement in our country, and the Greater Wellington region welcomes around 200 of these refugees. Refugee Services is the primary agency helping them to settle and adjust within their new communities, providing a range of practical support services to assist refugees with the many challenges of adjusting to life in a new culture and society. Wellington Airport are proud to assist Refugee Services provide a warm Wellington welcome!

  • Wellington Fashion Week

     

    Wellington Fashion Week provides the opportunity for local designers, photographers and creatives to expose themselves to the industry. Join us as we explore this unique industry and indulge in a very exciting event for Wellington. Wellington Airport are proud to support Wellington Fashion Week.

  • The Wellys

     

    Wellington Airport is proud to sponsor the Community Service category at the Wellingtonian of the Year Awards. This category celebrates our unsung heroes, those who often work tirelessly behind the scenes, and fulfill crucial community functions.

    The Wellingtonian of the Year Awards (The Wellys) is a celebration of the many great individuals across all sectors of the community who make our region such an exciting and vibrant place to live and work.

    Inrene Livingston - Wellys Community Service Winner 2012

    Irene Livingston has spent 15 years in the frontline working as a Crisis Co-ordinator and a support worker for Hutt Rape Counselling Network, available to victims on a 24/7 basis. Irene says being able to offer practical help to someone who is "broken", and in total shock if it is a crisis situation, is why she has worked in the sector for 14 years. "My passion for this kind of work has never diminished from day one."