Businesses unite for large donation
Seven local organisations have received a generous donation from a number of businesses around the country.
Nelson mayor Rachel Reese and Nelson Labour MP Rachel Boyack received a cheque for $20,000 from Chamberlain Group country manager Rodger Bowring yesterday.
Local organisations such as the Big Bake Up, Fifeshire Foundation, Te Kotahi o te Tauihu Charitable Trust, Fire and Emergency NZ, Nelson City Council’s Mayoral Relief Fund, Mitre 10 Helping Hands, and the Red Cross will each receive part of the amount.
Bowring said the large donation was amassed during Merlin Garage Door Openers’ national conference in Queenstown around the end of August.
He said had been ‘‘just stunned’ by the generosity shown by the donors at the conference, who immediately raised $18,000.
Boyack said it was humbling to see the support from around the country towards the people of Nelson. She had received a number of inquiries from people outside the region asking what they could do to help.
Boyack said that for organisations like the Fifeshire Foundation, their normal amount of applications had doubled, so the money would be greatly appreciated.
Additionally, Murray Leaning at Mitre 10 Helping Hands had been working to set up a trailer system where people could ‘‘grab tools’’ for their own use.
Reese said the Nelson City Council was starting to get a scale of the damage to the region following the flooding.
However, good progress was being made with repairs.
In the Tāhunanui hills, repair work was under way on the area’s water infrastructure, and construction work would soon begin there next week.