WW Wellness Impact Award | WW NZ


The WW Wellness Impact Award is our initiative to empower community charities and break down the barriers to wellness—for everyone!


Healthy living is a human right, but not all communities have access to the resources they need to make that a reality

Through the second annual WW Wellness Impact Award, we’re uplifting community-led solutions through a $20,000 grant to be awarded to two community charities to help them continue to make a positive impact in their local communities. There will be one winner in Australia and one in New Zealand.

Meet our New Zealand winner!



Women's Centre Rodney


Women’s Centre Rodney’s mission is to empower, inform and support women to make positive life changes for themselves and their families. With a primary focus on women’s well-being, it is our purpose to be their pillar in our Rodney community and work alongside them at any age and stage of their journey moving from crisis, to stability and then on to thriving.

We’ve been active in the community for over 30 years and our warm and welcoming Centre offers a safe and trusted space. Our holistic approach to Women’s Wellness includes services such as counselling, drop-in support and advocacy, group programmes for physical, mental and economic wellbeing, creative workshops, even community gardening - all while facilitating friendship and connection.



A big thank you to our other finalist!



The Period Place


The Period Place is the largest menstrual justice charity in Aotearoa, working towards a future of intergenerational period equity. We do this through advocacy, outreach, education, menstrual health promotion and our nationwide Impact Partner Programme. We are working towards period equity for everyone in Aotearoa by hosting and encouraging stigma-crushing conversations, facilitating the distribution of safe and inclusive period education and distributing free period products to those that need them. In the last two years, we have donated over 1.1 million period products through our Impact Partner Programme around Aotearoa.


Our spotlight this year is on charities that support and empower women to live and access a healthy life for themselves and their families.

No one can live a healthy life and thrive without their basic needs being met. Access to safe shelter, food, clothing, education, economic security as well as social and community support are essential elements of the solid foundation necessary to build a healthy life.

Unfortunately, research shows that many women in Australia and New Zealand do not have access to basic necessities.

In a recent study, 39.1% of women could not afford healthcare when they needed it.1

Additionally, Single-parent families headed by women have twice the rate of poverty of single-parent families headed by men.2

1 out of 6 women3 have experienced some form of family violence in Australia and in New Zealand it is 1 out of 3 women. 4

Across the globe, women earn less, save less, have greater care demands at home and tend to hold less secure jobs. These gaps along with other gender inequalities make women more vulnerable to social and economic hardships.

In Australia, the average full-time weekly income for a woman is 15.3%5 less than a man’s. Australia’s pay gap has been stuck between 15-19% for the past two decades.

In New Zealand the gender pay gap is 9.1%6

These gender inequalities are putting women and their dependents at a disadvantage.


At WW, we believe that addressing these issues is imperative, and we’re dedicated to being a part of the solution. That’s why we’re committed to selecting two organisations, one from Australia and New Zealand, that are led by and dedicated to the advancement of wellness in their communities for women and their families.

The winners will each receive a $20,000 grant to put towards improving the health and wellbeing of their community in need.


1 Women’s Health Survey 2020 https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/research/womens-health-survey accessed April 26 2022

2 The Poverty in Australia 2020: Part 2 – Who is affected? apo.org.au/report accessed May 3 2022

3 Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, 2018 https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence/family-domestic-sexual-violence-in-australia-2018/summary accessed April 26, 2022

4 New Zealand Family Violence and Economic Harm Statistics https://goodshepherd.org.au accessed May 3 2022

5 Face the facts: Gender Equality 2018, https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/face-facts-gender-equality-2018 accessed April 26 2022 accessed

6 What’s My Gender Pay Gap https://women.govt.nz/gpg accessed April 26 2022