FAIRFAX MEDIA ANNUAL REPORT 2013 19 Fairfax contributed in excess of $6 million in cash and kind to a range of charitable and  community causes during the year. These contributions help Fairfax form connections  in communities in which its mastheads, radio stations and brands operate in. For example, the Fairfax Radio Network (FRN) supports communities its radio stations  broadcast to. FRN does so by becoming involved in a range of community-based activities,  sponsorships, community service announcements and through the participation by our  staff in community events.  FRN stations also assisted hundreds of non-profit organisations by providing community  service announcement airtime.  In addition, FRN’s national content distribution company, Fairfax Radio Syndication, supplied  commercial distribution and campaign monitoring for a number of charities free of charge. In New Zealand, Fairfax sponsors several nation-wide causes as well as running its own  successful charities. Each year, via the Ports of Auckland Round the Bays, it donates about  NZD$110,000 to a range of charities involved in the well-being and education of children.  The Fairfax First Books program puts four picture books a year into the hands of every  child at more than 80 kindergartens across New Zealand to foster a love of reading and  build early literacy skills. In 2012, Fairfax’s New Zealand division launched Creative Spirit (creativespirit.org.nz), an  employment program designed to boost employment of people with disabilities, starting  with businesses in the creative communication space. And Fairfax has started in its own  Auckland office by employing two administration staff who job-share 30 hours a week  and who, since joining the Company in March 2012, have become valued team members.  Since Fairfax launched Creative Spirit, several advertising and media agencies have signed  on and are employing people with disabilities as part of the program. Fairfax’s Australian businesses participate in a workplace giving program, More Than  Words, which started in 2005. The program encourages and enables employees to donate  part of their pre-tax salary to a range of nominated charities. Through the program, more  than $739,000 has been donated since 2005. One area in which Fairfax believes its news outlets are particularly well-placed to make  a difference is literacy. Last year, over the course of 24 weeks, The Sunday Age and The  Sun-Herald campaigned strongly on the importance of reading by challenging students  around Victoria and NSW to read 12 books in six months. The challenge, known as The  Premier’s Reading Challenge, is a team effort at home, in school and through the masthead. The Fairfax First Books program is improving early childhood literacy in New Zealand.  Young people feature prominently in Fairfax’s scope of charitable support. A recent initiative  started with a casual conversation between The Age football writer Michael Gleeson and  former Collingwood and All-Australian player Leon Davis about indigenous children who  had never owned a pair of footy boots but loved the game passionately. Known as Boots  for Kids, the program encourages families in Victoria to donate their children’s used footy  boots for use in remote indigenous communities in the Northern Territory and Western  Australia where kids play barefoot.  Fairfax workplace giving Program – More than words literacy programs Boots For Kids 