Sun Media is now a ‘city partner', a member of Project Tauranga, that's making their particular expertise and skills available for city projects that benefit the people in the community.

Joining Project Tauranga means Sun Media is among more than 40 companies and organisations able to collaborate and combine forces to bring about community projects.

Project Tauranga manager Michael Vujnovich and Mayor Stuart Crosby officially welcome Sun Media and its directors Brian and Claire Rogers as City Partners.

Sun Media is the only locally-owned major media company in the region, publishing the widest circulating and best-read newspaper in the Bay of Plenty – The Weekend Sun – plus the region's leading news service SunLive and award-winning rural monthly publication Coast and Country News and a handful of other magazines and titles.

Project Tauranga pulls together the resources of many key businesses, large and small, for the betterment of the city.

'It is teaming up with council to get good stuff done in the community. More than anything else, that's what it means,” says Project Tauranga manager Michael Vujnovich.

Projects achieved through the work of city partners include the dance pad on The Strand, rebuilding the rocket slide at Memorial Park, and the water refill station at the base of the Mauao walking track.

Project Tauranga partners have also funded picnic tables park benches and barbecues, says Michael.

Sun Media directors Brian and Claire Rogers say they are looking forward to being able to contribute where possible, and to give the other city partners some kudos in the community for their actions, through The Weekend Sun and SunLive.

'That's why we have a community paper and that's what having a community paper stands for. We've always put emphasis about how we are local and that we do it because we love it,” says Claire.

In the 16 years since The Weekend Sun started, the family-owned company has given generously to the community, through sponsorships and supporting thousands of organisations and causes with free publicity. Every week The Weekend Sun dedicates up to four pages of free community promotion in the What's On section.

'Partnering with Project Tauranga is an exciting extension of what we already do for the city,” says Brian.

A lot of what the community partners do is without recognition, says Michael.

For example, Beca's helping out the Blue Rovers Football Club with the refurbishment of the Meredith Hall on Pemberton Park.

'Beca is walking through the project with them, telling them do it this way, don't do that…because they are a junior soccer club.”

Michael matches projects with city partners' strengths, usually it's a one-on-one process.

'Very rarely do they get together to sort out projects, but for Kaka Street Special School - full access playground, especially designed for disabled children - supported by Tauranga City Council, TECT, McLeod Cranes, City Care, Placemakers, Fulton Hogan and Tauranga Round Table.

'Much of the time they are run-alone projects.”

Comvita has been organising groups of children planting native plants in the Kopurererua Valley, and teaching them about environmental wellbeing.

Last year Placemakers rebuilt the well-loved Memorial Park rocket slide. And recently, TrustPower paid for the city's dance pad.

Contributions to projects from the city partners are either in cash or in kind, depending on what the partners want to achieve.

'We match projects with partners' strengths and aspirations,” says Michael.