Ben & Jerry’s at Hoyts Penrith is adding to their list of social missions, and they need your help to save trees.
Ben & Jerry’s at Hoyts Penrith has always had social missions, doing their best to get involved in a new initiative every quarter. Most recently they did a blood drive, participated in Melanoma March, Clean Up Australia Day, and made donations to a local food pantry.
However, HalfCut – an organisation dedicated to protecting crucial forests, preserving Traditional Owners’ land titles and initiating mass tree planting projects – is one of their longest standing partnerships.
“Ben & Jerry’s has had a partnership with HalfCut since 2021, and we try and do that annually to help bring back land for HalfCut,” Manager Kurt White said.
“Since 2021, we have already been able to save nine lots as a company in the Daintree Rainforest, and they rewild it and give it back to the Indigenous community.”
On a personal level, White and fellow manager Erin Carley agreed this is one of the most important initiatives to get the word out about.
“The fact is, half of our rainforest is gone, which is quite devastating for us in terms of life, our ecosystem, and how we usually operate,” Carley said.
“We’re trying to spread the message that this is important, and it’s better to act now rather than later when we don’t have anything to work for.”
Ben & Jerry’s at Hoyts Penrith has just started a new fundraiser with a $1500 goal to reach by the end of August. Their primary strategy at the moment is through their green dip cones.
“Right now, we have the dip cones, which have green sprinkles on them,” White said.
“Every $2.50 raised saves a square metre, so we put $2 of those cones towards the fundraiser.”
But, there are plenty more ways for people to get involved, in hopes of helping them reach their target.
“We’ve got rounded donations, we have the QR codes with guests that we’re able to scan, and so far I think we’re just close to $200,” White said this week.
“We’ve still got a lot to go, but we’re pretty keen on the fact that we can make that!”
At the end of the month, the team is planning to hold a raffle to seal the deal.
“We are going to hold a raffle where guests can buy tickets and we’ll do a prize draw when we host our Daintree Evening, which is coming up at the end of August,” she said.
“That’s really exciting for us!”
But, they’re hoping to have the support of the local Penrith community to make it happen.
“We would love some other businesses that are willing to donate prizes to try and get more people wanting to donate to win the prizes,” she said.
“Every dollar counts, and even time reading what it’s about counts, because then someone is more aware than they were before.”
For more information or to donate, head instore or email [email protected].
Cassidy Pearce
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.