The Mill wins fight to stay open
A gym that is keeping up to 500 kids a month off Kaikohe streets has received a major boost.
Popular gym The Mill ( Te Mira) Kaikohe was struggling to meet the $30,000 a year needed for operation costs so youth aged from 10 to 18 can use their facility for free.
Five days after appearing on
the gym had received close to $13,000 on their Givealittle page.
This skyrocketed to meet the $30,000 target when an anonymous donor gave over $17,000 on August 25.
Volunteer Grant Komene says it is a relief.
‘‘I think it’s incredible, I’ve never seen a big jump in donations like that.’’
He says it gives them a ‘‘sure year’’ and they can go back to focusing on getting people fitter.
Manager Anthony Warren says they have been running The Mill ‘‘on the smell of an oily rag’’.
The gym opens its doors from 5.30am to 6.30pm and is run by Warren and Grant Komene who both work for free.
‘‘If we had shut down, it would have been a disaster,’’ Warren says.
‘‘There would have been 500 kids with nowhere to go.
‘‘If those kids were back on the street Kaikohe would be a different place and the criminal elements would have an army of recruits.’’
Support at the grassroots level has been fantastic, Warren says, but he is waiting to see what the major organisations in town are prepared to do.
‘‘We hope Ngapuhi will show some form of support given that 99 per cent of youth here are Ngapuhi.’’
The youth who use The Mill got behind the fundraising.
Northland College recently held a mufti day which raised over $200 with other schools in the area planning similar events.
When the kids who attend The Mill are asked what they want to do when they leave school, a large number want to serve their community as firefighters, police officers and military personnel.
This makes Warren proud. The kids only have one expectation on them when they enter The Mill.
‘‘All we expect is that they train safely and look after one another.
‘‘There are regulations but we don’t stifle them.’’
Warren wants to thank all the supporters and volunteers who help on a daily basis.