The Auckland City Mission’s, Santa’s Little Helpers campaign is one our favourites that we look forward to each year. We help by collecting funds, food and gifts to support local families at Christmas and love being a part of this fantastic appeal.

Our offices are filled with animal lovers! Our team in Wellington like to head out to HUHA in Otaki to make donations of treats, toys and blankets to our furry friends. HUHA are an amazing charitable trust dedicated to providing shelter for less fortunate animals. Definitely a favourite charity of ours, we are excited each time we plan on heading out to HUHA!

Cure Kids is a charity very close to our hearts. Some of our staff wish there was a cure when they were young, and others are currently Cure Kids Ambassadors. A large part of our ‘Why’ as an organisation is to be able to help others, and to support our staff with their passions. We hold regular fundraising events throughout the year to raise money for Cure Kids and look forward to the annual Red Nose Day appeal that we take part in. Become an everyday hero too and donate today!

A favourite way to reduce work stress in our office is by taking part in lunchtime netball. We have a business team in the Wellington Office and play once a week at the Wellington Indoor Sports Stadium. It’s a great way to unwind, build fitness, release any stress and have a lot of fun with work colleagues. While we did initially sign up for a bit of a laugh, after winning our first season we do perhaps get a little competitive! Overall, we play for the fun, fitness and teamwork it adds to our culture here at Velocity. Feel free to pop down on a Thursday to watch our team, #NOWWEPLAY in the next match.

Netball Photography by Nathan Sparrow.

Xuxu is our favourite little dumpling bar in Auckland as it offers up hand crafted dumplings and delicious pork buns to enjoy alongside boutique wines, local beers and cocktails. You also get to enjoy all this whilst sitting amongst exquisite Asian Décor, the wall made up of broken china plates is a particular favourite. In a great spot in Auckland, we cannot recommend it enough and might even see you there!

Wellington’s tallest and largest rooftop venue, The Arborist is not far from our office and is one of our favourite places to go for a celebratory lunch with staff or for a drink after work. The downstairs restaurant has stunning décor reminiscent of a stylized log cabin, perfect for those days when you want to escape the cold. And for Summer, we like to head on up to the rooftop bar for a drink in the sun. Order a Lumberjack burger, a margarita (highly recommend) and sit back and listen to the amazing music they play.

My Food Bag created by Nadia Lim is a service that delivers right to your doorstep all the ingredients needed to make delicious meals that they provide the recipes for. We love My Food Bag in our offices as we find it really helps with work/life balance, allowing us more time in the evenings to spend with our families and friends. The hassle of constantly having to think about what to cook each week is taken away and endless trips to the busy supermarket after work are eliminated. Our staff surprise themselves with the beautiful gourmet meals they end up making! Highly, highly recommend if you get sick of planning meals and need some more time in your day.

Recently renovated in the perfect location, LeRoy’s Bar (previously The Hideaway) is one of our new favourite spots in Wellington. With a self-pour beer station and an addictive claw machine to win free food and drinks, LeRoy’s Bar certainly offers entertainment with your stay! The renovations included the installation of a caravan booth and a wall of arcade machines with a nicely setup outdoor area to soak up the sun. When the weather is nice we like to head down here for staff lunches and are commonly seen ordering the tacos and playing the claw machine!

A self-proclaimed, “Beer Geek Heaven” Little Beer Quarter, or LBQ how we know it as, is definitely one of our favourite places for a quiet drink after work. A small bar, that’s nestled in the Edward St Precinct, LBQ has a great selection of craft beers and the best fried chicken salad! With an unbeatable lunch for $10 on Thursdays and an amazing selection of pizza to match your beer with, it is a bar to escape city life, whilst still being in the city. Go for the beer, stay for the eclectic décor and relaxed atmosphere.

One of our top regular spots in Wellington is The Greenman Pub located on Victoria Street in Wellington. Fantastic, relaxed vibes welcome you and stick around for your entire stay. With a great selection on the menu of burgers, pizzas, salads and more you will leave full. The Velocity special is ordering a main meal and hot chips with cheese gravy to share! Definitely one for the cheat day.

They also offer up a hearty $10 breakfast that you cannot go wrong with as well. If you like to have a bit of a competition whilst you have a drink they have a pool table and darts available in a separate area. Great as a function space, but also one of our top spots to celebrate a staff members birthday.