AIA / Sovereign staff help give foster children a happy Christmas

A charity that provides practical support to foster children to assist their transition to new homes has another 150-plus new toys to provide this Christmas, thanks to the generosity of the staff at AIA and Sovereign.

The toys were handed over at the AIA /Sovereign offices this morning.

"AIA and Sovereign have been amazing collecting and wrapping all these Christmas gifts alongside social workers who know what their children will love. We really appreciate your support and would love other local businesses to follow your lead. Thank you for helping us for another year,” says Louise Allnutt, Auckland Co-ordinator and Chairperson of Foster Hope.

“Sadly, Christmas is a stressful time of the year, where child protection agencies around the country see a big increase in child abuse and crisis management cases.”

“We want to ensure that if a child is suddenly placed in a new home at this time, that the foster family is not caught short with nothing under the tree for this child,” Louise Allnutt says.

Chief Executive Officer AIA New Zealand, Nick Stanhope, says a sporting theme was chosen for the gift drive, in line with the company’s ambitions for New Zealand, and New Zealanders. 

“We want all Kiwi kids to think about health and wellness early in their lives, so that they form the sort of habits that will help them live healthier, longer, better lives.”

“I’m really struck by the generosity of our combined AIA and Sovereign team, which the companies are backing up with a $2000 donation.

“I’d implore anyone else who wants to help foster children get the best start in life to either donate a toy before December 10, or to make a cash donation,” Nick Stanhope says. 

Foster Hope’s gift donation guidelines, and the details on how to make cash donations, are on their website.

“Lastly, I hope that all Kiwi children – whether they be in foster care or not – as well as our customers and partners, have a happy holiday, and a positive start to the New Year,” Nick Stanhope says. 

For images from the handover of the presents, please contact Jay Harkness, Senior Communications Adviser, on 027 836 2533, or at jay.harkness@aia.com.  

A scene from the handover of the gifts this morning (6 December 2018). 

-Ends-

About AIA New Zealand / Sovereign: 

In New Zealand AIA and Sovereign together employ almost 900 people. Since AIA arrived in New Zealand in 1981, it has consistently provided the market with innovative personal and business insurance products that suit the Kiwi way of life. In July 2018, the AIA Group acquired Sovereign, becoming the largest life insurer in New Zealand. AIA and Sovereign offer a complete range of risk management products that focus on the needs of customers. The companies are both based in Auckland, with regional offices in Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. Both companies are members of the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme and the Health Funds Association of New Zealand. AIA has an insurer financial strength rating from Standard and Poor’s of AA-. Sovereign has a rating of A+, from AM Best.

About AIA Group

AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, Cambodia, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 per cent joint venture in India and a representative office in Myanmar.

The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai almost a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$221 billion as of 30 June 2018.

AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of 32 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).