A thank you letter for Freeset wage subsidy supporters.

We want to say thank you. 

Through your gen­er­ous support, and the support of others like you, we were able to con­tinue the employ­ment of 82 Freeset staff in 2020.

What a year it has been! In June 2019, the Mission Council of NZBMS com­mit­ted to sub­si­dis­ing 82 Freeset employee salaries for the next 5 years. This enabled a busi­ness already caught in some finan­cial chal­lenges to securely con­tinue the employ­ment of these 82 staff — then the full impact of the pan­demic, lock­downs, and all the asso­ci­ated fear further jeop­ar­dised the sta­bil­ity of the busi­ness. The workers, and their fam­i­lies, were vul­ner­a­ble. NZBMS’ com­mit­ment to these sub­si­dies was now more impor­tant than ever.

That’s why this subsidy is more than just an income.

These 82 employ­ees have been pro­vided a feeling of hope, an increase in well­be­ing, further career train­ing, as well as a place and com­mu­nity of belong­ing and purpose.

Thank you for being part of this! Your com­mit­ment to the future of Freeset/Joyya, the con­tin­ued employ­ment of the staff, and the care of their fam­i­lies is invaluable.

What we have known as Freeset will take on a new iden­tity in Feb­ru­ary, as Joyya. This name reflects the heart of the orig­i­nal vision — pro­vid­ing a joyous pres­ence and reflect­ing the light of Jesus in the wider com­mu­nity. If you would like to con­tinue fol­low­ing the journey of this entre­pre­neur­ial busi­ness into this new chapter, please email me at aj@nzbms.org.nz [aj@arotahi.org.nz] so we can add you to their ongoing updates.

2021 will bring us into the second year of our five-year com­mit­ment to the employ­ment subsidy. In 2020 we sub­sidised 82 staff at a cost of NZ $2500 each. This year, the subsidy amount drops to NZ $1650 per worker.

Can you join with us again in 2021 and for the next three years, as we con­tinue the support of these employ­ees and their families?

Give to the work of com­mu­nity trans­for­ma­tion in the world.

Update in Nov 2022:

As we look forward to 2023, our com­mit­ment to these 82 staff of Joyya remains steady and sig­nif­i­cant. We want to con­tinue to ask for your support, prayer­ful and finan­cial, as we meet our com­mit­ment. Email kelly@arotahi.org.nz for details to donate and invest in the future of this com­mu­nity. You might like to make a one-off dona­tion, or commit to sup­port­ing a par­tic­u­lar staff member for the next 2 years of the subsidy — thank you. 🖤