Daffodil Day marked around Tararua
It was not exactly good daffodil weather on Daffodil Day Friday August 26 but the supporters of the fight against cancer were out in numbers throughout the Tararua to raise money.
Daffodil Day tends to focus on the stalls on the day, but many groups were active beforehand, such as the ANZ Bank in Dannevirke which raised a record $3587 with its quiz on Wednesday August 24.
The Services and Citizen’s Club was packed for a hilarious night.
Every group had been planning the day for months and co-ordinator Sandra Haycock was pleased each committee had it all in hand before the event. Field Officer Shirley Walker toured the Tararua several times delivering the supplies, including the ever-popular bears which arrived only on the Monday before.
She noticed a big difference in the supply of real daffodils. Dannevirke was really struggling to find some due to the late season, while southern Tararua had them in abundance. Customers still spent up big in Dannevirke with nearly all the merchandise sold.
Typical of all the small groups was Pongoroa. Operating out of the Pongoroa Cafe´ /store Maureen, Lorraine and Ann had a steady stream of customers going for the special daffodils which had flowered in time ahead of the usual varieties.
Both the Pongoroa Early Years and Pongoroa School had raised funds, the day care making daffodil posters which raised $57 and the school dressing up in wacky style which raised $86. After Pongoroa Hotel patrons also chipped in, all told Pongoroa contributed $663 to the cause.
Shirley Walker says the figures are not yet available for Tararua yet but she is always proud of the teams and the public when it comes to cancer support fundraisers like this, she said.