Soon after Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke’s Bay in February 2023, the trustees met to see if there was an appropriate response we could make. After some discussion, and conversations within our community networks, we decided to have both a short-term response, and a response about seven months down the track. Within a couple of months, we had delivered practical resources (either much-needed funds or petrol vouchers) totalling $39,000 across 8 Primary Schools and 5 Kohanga Reo, all of whom had been significantly impacted by flooding and the silt that was left in the wake of the flood.
Nearer the end of the year we printed and distributed 500 booklets called ‘Places to Play in the Hawkes Bay’ to children and whānau who continued to be directly impacted. These booklets provided $10 vouchers to cafés close to public parks, with the hope that visiting these parks would provide some whānau fun, light-hearted relief, and support wellbeing. We hoped that this would also be a practical reminder to these whānau that people in the community recognised that these are still challenging times, and that they have not been forgotten. We thank all the cafés involved: the Orbit Neighbourhood Café; At E’s Café; The Silver Bullet; Koko Café; Muffs Pantry; and Ka Pai Cuppa Waka. We also thank the booklet designer, printer, and the Red Cross for getting behind this initiative.