Bay of Plenty charities and community groups are invited to apply for the latest round of Good in the Hood funding.

Z Energy service station will be giving back $4000 to the local groups who are doing good in their hood.

Since the programme began in 2013, Good in the Hood has given away almost $8 million to thousands of local charities and organisations doing great things in their local neighborhoods, right across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Z Retailer D & L Investments Ltd who operates 10 [Z sites across the Bay of Plenty is calling for local charities and community groups to apply for a share of $4,000 that will be donated across four selected groups at every Z site across the country.

Dave & Lynette Gillies say this funding from Z allows us to give back to the communities we live and work in, making a real impact in supporting their local initiatives.

'We're proudly local, as are the people we employ and serve. Good in the Hood allows us to play our part in recognising those who are making a significant contribution to the health and well-being of our local community.

'In the past we have been able to organisations such as The Graeme Dingle Foundation, Breast Cancer Support Services BOP, Age Concern, Blue Light & KADAP (based in Kawerau) & so many others.

Good in the Hood allows customers to choose which local charity or community organisation they want to support the most. When shopping instore with Z, customers are given an orange token to pop into one of the four boxes, voting for their favourite local group. The $4,000 is split between all participating groups based on the number of votes each receives.

Z's retail general manager Andy Baird is pleased to see this iconic programme return for 2022.

'Good in the Hood is well known and loved by our retailers and our customers. As New Zealand continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, we recognise now more than ever the need to support those groups working hard to support and better our local communities. Our Good in the Hood initiative allows us to give back to all the communities we operate in across Aotearoa.”

On top of the $4,000, every Z service station has an additional $1000 to be used by local retailers throughout the year to support other neighbourhood events.

Applications for Good in the Hood are open from 9am July 1 to 11.59pm July 31.

For more information about Good in the Hood, and how to apply visit: https://www.z.co.nz/about-z/what-we-stand-for/community/good-in-the-hood