$15,000 given to community organisations
A special night where, Papanui Rotary give out cheques to the community organisations who helped with the 2017 Gift Wrapping at Northlands Mall.
President Lois began our celebration by welcoming our guests, many of them having been involved in this event for a number of years, and sharing that it is one of the highlights of our year and a great way to contribute to our local community.
She was especially proud of the sizeable amount that was raised during this event and commented on how much the customers really enjoyed the experience.
A particular thanks went to those Rotarians who helped including Gordon & Margaret Shields who managed the finances and the distributing of gifts under the tree, Tony Tizzard for setting up and organising the roster, Evan Thompson for organising our Rotary team and the team members themselves for volunteering their time.
Thanks also went to Life Pharmacy for looking after incoming funds overnight and the three volunteers (Denise, Norma & Charlotte) who helped out at any time as needed. They were a real godsend.
This was very much a team effort with many of us pitching in to help each other in order to make a real difference in our community.
Tony then shared some particular details of the event as follows:
- The gift wrapping ran for 21 days which was 3 less than the previous year.
- Daily takings started slowly and then accelerated as the days went by.
- Our daily average take was $826.
- In Saturday the 23rd we took just under $2,000 which was our highest ever.
- The total for the 21 days was $17,344.
- This equated to $1,577 per organisation to take away.
Representatives from each organisation were then asked to come up and speak briefly about their experiences. They all really enjoyed this event and were very appreciative of the support they receive from Papanui Rotary. If you would like to understand what they were going to use these funds for then click on the "Read More" link.
Sarah from St John Youth Cranmer/Bishopdale
Sarah shared they have had a long involvement and that this is their major fund raising activity for the year. It was great to get youth involved and this year the funds will be used to take leaders to a camp focussed on building their leadership skills.
Yvonne from Soroptimist International
Yvonne shared that they are part of a worldwide women’s service organisation who are primarily involved in issues awareness, advocacy and action including supporting women by building shelters for those in violent situations. The funds will be used to help with these ongoing activities.
Kylie from St John Youth #3
Kylie shared that they will be using some of their funds to support an Honours Board for cadets who have met their 12 stage badge which is their highest award. The remainder will be used to help run camps for youth focussed on helping attendees learn practical skills that they can use in their daily lives.
Annette from Allenvale School
Annette shared that the school caters for students aged 5-21 years who have a wide range of challenges where individualised approaches and equipment is required to support their learning and development. The funds received will be especially useful in helping cover travel costs in order to give their students a wider range of real life experiences.
Bella from Kiwi Family Trust
Bella shared that her organisation runs courses for youth and adults on empowering change. Their funds will be used in their programme targeting youth from at risk homes to go on camps where they are taught valuable life skills that they can take with them throughout their journey.
Emily from Papanui High School Japanese Studies
Emily, a Year 12 student studying Japanese, shared that some of their funds will help support her in a trip to Japan in September where she will be part of an exchange programme which involves living with a local family and attending a local school.
Regan from Papanui High School Hockey Team
Regan is a member of the 1st 11 Hockey Team and part of the school’s funds will be used to take the team to Fiji. This includes donating hockey equipment to the local teams to help promote the sport in that country.
Caroline from Papanui High School PTA
Caroline is a member of the PTA and has been involved in the wrapping programme for nine years. Part of the school’s funds will be used to support students in their final year to put on a production and to also help fund presents at the end of year prize giving.
Nick from Aratupu Preschool & Nursery
Nick shared that they are a small preschool and nursery who specialise in children from low income homes. They will be using the funds to buy musical instruments in order to give their children the opportunity to experience and play music.
Fay from NW Christchurch Anglican Parish
Fay helps run a youth group for 9-13 year olds in the parish. This is their only find raiser and they will be using them to help provide meals and activities plus support attendance at their Easter Camp.
The evening concluded with the taking of photos of all groups involved in the event.
Photos from the night can be seen by clicking here
As a special "warmup exercise a few adventurous attendees participated ina "wrap a lamp in 3 minutes" competition.
Some of the winners are shown below:
