HELL Serves Up ‘The Final Peckoning' To Support Kids' Mental Health
Wellington, 23 May 2025 - ' The Final Peckoning' lands in HELL stores across Aotearoa today, aiming to raise $15,000 for Mitey, the school-based mental health programme founded by Sir John Kirwan.
$2 from every double-sized pizza sold will go directly to Mitey, supporting its goal to reach 600 schools by the end of 2025. The 'Final Peckoning' was created from The Edge Afternoons through a listener-driven topping challenge. Co-host Steph Monks developed the winning flavour, which is loaded with popcorn chicken, cream cheese, onion, green capsicum, and BBQ sauce.
Mitey is currently in 227 NZ schools, reaching 75,000 students; however, CEO Sarah Manley says there's growing demand for their service as more tamariki grapple with mental health challenges.
'Unhappy kids don't learn, and one in five will face a mental health issue before they turn 18 - teachers are seeing more children carry big problems on little shoulders,' says Manley.
'Through Mitey, we help schools normalise talking about mental health. Teachers weave it into everyday learning, and our coaches support them every step of the way.'
Mitey says that for every $1 invested, there's a social return of $5.80 to all of New Zealand through improved mental health outcomes. Manley says Mitey helps teachers deal with the stuff that gets in the way of learning.
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'Kids tell us they can now talk to their parents about their 'head hassles'. One student said Mitey gave them the courage to ask for a counsellor. Teachers say you can feel the tone in the class change after they've taught mental health education. This is an opportunity for New Zealand to come together and create a stronger, healthier generation, delivering on a bold promise of a nation where every child has the skills to flourish for life,' she says
Josh Drake, HELL CEO, says supporting young people is part of the brand's DNA, and Mitey tackles the big - and often unspoken - challenges young people face.
'New Zealand's future lies with our tamariki, who need new tools to navigate an increasingly complex world. Life's tough right now - rising costs are putting pressure on families, and the weight of that can fall on our kids. By supporting Mitey, we want to remind people that kids require more than resilience - they need targeted support to thrive.
'If we can play even a small part in that by doing what we do best, it's absolutely worth going to HELL for,' he says.
Casey Sullivan, Mediaworks Content Director, hopes Kiwis will come out in droves to support Mitey and Aotearoa's youth.
'We're incredibly grateful that HELL could jump on board and help make this happen. They're the perfect ones to bring it to life, and we can't wait for people to taste 'The Final Peckoning' after helping us create it,' he says.
The 'Final Peckoning' is on sale from today and available for a strictly limited time.
About HELL
Established in Wellington in 1996, HELL has grown to become one of New Zealand's most infamous and well-known brands, with 78 franchises throughout New Zealand and more than 1,200 staff. Behind the irreverent brand, HELL focuses on affordable indulgence, offering Kiwi consumers an ethical option in convenience foods. In 2015, HELL was the first NZ company to offer free-range pizzas and specialises in catering for vegan, vegetarian and meat-loving souls. HELL supports a range of causes, including the New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and IHC's Project Active, and it is an active member of the local communities in which it operates.
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