Live, Local and Loving It . . .
A fundraising concert for the Life Education Trust will likely be held again next year, after the success of yesterday’s inaugural event.
Live, Local and Loving It, featuring several South Canterbury acts, drew a crowd of about 1500 to the Caroline Bay Soundshell and a special appearance from the Life Education Trust’s mascot Harold the Giraffe.
Concert organiser Brent Birchfield said while money raised is yet to be tallied, the day could not have gone better.
‘‘I think it just shows you how supportive the people of South Canterbury are,’’ Birchfield said.
‘‘They definitely turn up and help out.’’
Birchfield hoped the event would raise both money, and support, for the Life Education Trust.
‘‘They do a hell of a lot of work with young people who might need to have a bit of a steady hand in life,’’ he said.
‘‘Like other organisations that rely on entirely their own fundraising, they were hit badly by Covid, so for us it’s an opportunity to access another source of funding.
‘‘We underwrote this event, so that ensures all the money raised goes back directly to the trust.’’
Birchfield said he would ‘‘definitely’’ try to host the event next year. ‘‘It’s the volunteers that make events like this great, they just get things done,’’ he said.
‘‘I don’t know what acts we will have next year, but it will be a focus on local talent.’’
Mid-South Canterbury Life Education Trust vice chairman Jeff Paul said the event had been ‘‘weeks’’ in the planning.
‘‘For us, it has been an amazing opportunity,’’ Paul said.
‘‘It also gets the message of the trust out to the greater community.’’
He said the Mid-South Canterbury Life Education Trust’s mobile classroom travels to 67 schools in the area and sees more than 8000 primary school-aged children each year. It is famous for its mascot, Harold the Giraffe.
‘‘We have two qualified educators which share the workload,’’ Paul said.
‘‘We are currently revamping our support structures with an emphasis on developing the ‘Friends of Harold’ concept. This will enable more organisations and individuals to support us through fundraising, donations or time.’’