Paint the village red
Havelock North is turning red, and it’s not because its embarrassed — far from it.
The village is turning red with pride as it raises money for the Havelock North Volunteer Fire Brigade to build training facilities behind its station at 15 Karanema Dr, Havelock North.
Paint the Village Red is the brainchild of a group of Village business people, John Macpherson, Amy Stewart, George Williams and Sam Jackman.
The group is no stranger to putting in hours of voluntary work for the sake of their community. They have brought Jane Dunkerley on board as gala convener.
John is calling on the community spirit to get behind the fundraising venture, which he is certain will reach its goal of $50,000.
“The aim of Paint The Village Red is one, to raise money and two, to raise awareness of what the volunteer fire brigade do for this community,” John says.
“We don’t really appreciate just what they do. There are 35 male and female volunteers who are at the station within four minutes of an alarm going off.
“The majority of these people are employed and their employers allow them to drop tools and go. They can sometimes be gone for hours so it really is a community effort. Last year there were around 235 callouts.
“They don’t just attend fires, they are often first responders to car accidents.
“They really are the unsung heroes of the village and Paint the Village Red is a way to recognise them and show our appreciation.”
Every house in Havelock North will get an envelope outlining what’s happening and requesting a donation in return for an installed smoke detector. The major push will be from September 21-23. There will be a bucket collection on Friday and retail activities throughout the weekend such as “red plate and red glass specials” at some of the restaurants and cafes, with part of the purchase price going toward the fundraising.
“Most schools are doing gold coin mufti days and there are lots of community groups planning events,” Jane says.
The big event is an oldfashioned gala next to the Fire Station on Sunday, September 23 between 11am and 3pm. It will be family focused and the firemen will be putting on displays.
“There will be plenty of things to entertain people,” Jane says.
“This is a chance for the community to show our fire brigade just how much we appreciate everything they do for us,” John says. “We are looking for donations of quality products for the wheel and tombola raffles. We are also looking for people willing to come and help out. We would love the support.”
■ Donations of good-quality items for raffles and money donations for the fund can be left at Advintage, 4 Donnelly St, Havelock North.