Stuff’s cyclone fundraiser pushes towards $5m on final day
fundraising campaign in the wake of the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle has hit its final day as the total amount of donations from Kiwis pushes towards $5m.
More than 35,000 Kiwis have donated to the fund, which will be split between the Red Cross and Mayoral Relief Funds. Total donations topped $4.3m last night, and were still climbing.
Red Cross secretary-general Sarah Stuart-Black thanked Stuff and its readers for the support.
‘‘We’re hugely grateful to Stuff and the support you’ve given to promote the disaster fund,’’ StuartBlack said.
Stuart-Black described the widespread devastation following Gabrielle as being like the earthquakes that hit Christchurch.
‘‘I’m feeling really worried about how people are doing, but it’s not going to be like this forever,’’ she said.
The Red Cross is providing emergency assistance for communities – gear like generators, bedding or hygiene kits to cut-off and under-supplied communities. Twenty-eight generators were supplied by the Red Cross to people living on the Napier-Taupo¯ road and in the Esk Valley earlier this week, and Stuart-Black said 4000 volunteer hours have been worked by would be needed over the next couple of months and how Red Cross would fit in, but she thought the Red Cross would provide frustrated communities with mental health support.
‘‘The tiredness and exhaustion that comes with that level of emotion and grief and loss... we’re seeing a combination of things playing out,’’ she said.
Stuart-Black wanted to assure donors that no administrative fee would be taken by the Red Cross and all the money was going straight into the relief fund.
Stuff CEO Sinead Boucher said she’d been blown away by the generosity of people, adding the amount raised so far was a reflection of just how much individuals and businesses desperately want to help.
‘‘It’s been incredible to see the donations and wonderful comments of support roll in,’’ Boucher said.
‘‘Every day our reporters and visual journalists on the ground in affected regions bring a fresh set of terrible, tragic stories and images of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle.
‘‘These stories have deeply affected so many people across the country, and compelled them to give what they can.’’
Boucher said she hoped the money raised would go a long way towards helping communities get back on their feet as the cleanup and recovery continued.
The funds raised will be split seven ways between the Red Cross and the Mayoral Relief Funds of the six regions identified at the start of the fundraiser – Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Hawke’s Bay and Taira¯whiti.
Mayoral relief funds help local communities support wha¯nau, community organisations and marae after an emergency.