For many decades, the Kennards Hire business has partnered with communities and charitable organisations because it just felt like the right thing to do. From local school fetes, fun runs, community pride events, and disaster relief donation drives, every day our branch network is supporting a charitable event or getting involved in a community activity. Our community spirit and One Family value is embedded in our DNA.

Our formalised non-profit partnerships started with Stepping Stone House in 1989, an organisation focused on supporting youth at risk of homelessness. This partnership still stands, 35 years on. Other partnerships have included the Humpty Dumpty Foundation, PCYC, Starlight Foundation, Salvation Army and many more. 

Almost two decades ago, we began supporting Taronga Zoo with the launch of the Little Penguins project followed by the Rhino, Platypus and Tasmanian Devil projects and most recently, the Plains-Wanderer conservation and breeding program, based at the Western Plains Zoo.

It’s with great pride that we give back to the communities in which our people work and live, and to organisations, big and small, which are working hard to maximise opportunities for young people and conserving the environment and biodiversity.

Visit our community support page to find out more about how we give back to the neighbourhoods in which we operate.

Initially a partnership with the Kennard family, the Foundation, family and Kennards Hire business recently celebrated 25 years of supporting The Smith Family.

Today, one in six Australian children and young people are still living in poverty, where even life's basics are hard to come by. 

When families are experiencing financial disadvantage children can fall behind with their learning, leaving them more vulnerable to experiencing hardship themselves later in the life. The Smith Family have been at the forefront of supporting and improving the lives of disadvantaged children in Australia since 1922. 

The Foundation is a proud supporter of the Learning for Life program, helping young Australians reach their full potential by staying engaged in education. Through this program, the foundation provides support to students via scholarships to pursue higher education or vocational training. 

In addition to the Learning for Life program, the Foundation has recently supported The Smith Family’s Digital Learning Essential’s program, which aims to give everyone an equal chance at school by providing equipment, access to the internet and technical / life skills to navigate education via the digital world. 

The Foundation is proud to have supported over 214 Learning for Life students to date, as well as 43 tertiary Learning for Life students, and in-kind equipment provision for their major fundraising events and volunteering for the annual Smith Family Christmas Toy & Book Appeal.

For over 20 years, Springboard has been creating opportunities for young people in New Zealand to achieve positive outcomes and pathways to success by creating a place of belonging, focussing on personal wellbeing and celebrating one-to-one connections, whilst also engaging family and the wider community.

The Kennards Hire Foundation has been a proud supporter of Springboard since 2019 and has directly funded  the A Mua Ake Employment Preparation program, a 20 week program designed to help young people aged 18-24 build the skills and confidence they need to become job-ready and to secure employment.

A Mua Ake had 49 young people in the program in FY24. 54% of those young people either found employment or went into further training.

In 2019 Jack*, a Springboard program participant, was completing a level 2 education program. At the time, he was using drugs and alcohol daily, and had high levels of anxiety and depression. Jack completed what was then a pilot work preparation course with Springboard and was placed with a local lawn mowing contractor on work experience.

Five years on, Springboard’s Dan Gray met with Jack, having monitored his journey closely since his work experience. Jack is now running his own client base and run, has his own gear, Ute and team, and is responsible for scheduling the run and allocating jobs and tasks to his team. He recently sat his restricted licence after years of putting it off due to his anxiety. He is drug and alcohol free and continues to seek monthly support from the Springboard counsellor.

“What Springboard achieves within our community is nothing short of outstanding. I have seen youth crime continue to fall in the Warkworth area. The model is simple but very effective and should be introduced nationwide. I have watched as the organisation has grown from strength to strength.”

 Sergeant Mark Stallworthy, NZ Police, Officer in Charge, Warkworth *Not his real name

Melbourne Indigenous Transition school (MITS) is a transition school and boarding program for Indigenous students. Based on Wurundjeri Country in Richmond, Melbourne, students come from remote Northern Territory communities across Arnhem Land, the Tiwi Islands, the Victoria Daly Region and the Roper Gulf Region to attend schools to further their education.

In 2016, MITS opened its doors to its first 22 students from remote Top End and regional Victoria, with students attending school in MITS's classrooms at the Richmond Football Club and boarding on Richmond Hill.

Fast forward to 2024, MITS now operates Years 7, 8 and a 9 – 12 program through partnerships with organisations including Melbourne Uni Science Faculty, Bangarra Dance Company, the Monash University Museum of Art and many more. Their students participate in a vibrant curriculum which makes the most of the opportunities and excitement of Melbourne.

MITS also works with partner schools in Melbourne to place students in schools that are best suited to each individual student’s needs. Wellbeing sits at the core of the school program and every student is supported to ensure their physical, social, emotional and cultural wellbeing is strong.

Their three Senior Boarding Houses are located on Richmond Hill, a short walk from their Year 7 Boarding House and close to trains and trams. Year 8 MITS students live in these houses, along with their Years 9-12 students who attend one of the Melbourne Pathways Schools each day.

The Foundation is proud to have helped expand the MITS boarding program to include 100 beds across four boarding houses in Richmond, establish a year 8 MITS school program and help 13 students attend year 12 in 2024.

This year the organisation was invited to be a guest speaker at the 2024 Kennards Hire Managers Conference where two students addressed over 350 team members on their experiences and the opportunities MITS has provided them.

The Kennards Hire team also supported the build of one of the boarding houses with donations of in-kind equipment, as well as with introductions to construction companies which donated building equipment required to build this facility.