Te Horo, you are awesome! The final tally is now in and I’m thrilled to report that our little community has raised over $95,000 through the recent fundraising campaign, “The Great Te Horo Road Rai$e”.
This wonderful community fundraising result, in addition to grants received from institutional donors (including a second grant from the Lotteries Commission of $125,000!), plus Hall savings from past fundraising, now brings our overall funds raised to $466,000.
Given this stunning result, members of the Te Horo Hall Committee have unanimously agreed to proceed as soon as possible to earthquake strengthen the Hall. We now have the funds, the builder, an agreed budget, and the building consent has just been approved. The work is expected to commence in August.
This is a huge milestone for Te Horo and Te Horo Hall; made possible with the amazing energy, commitment and support from our wider community.
In my report to the Te Horo Hall Society AGM earlier this month, I described the intense past four months of fundraising as both “enthralling and exhausting!” It was just so exciting to see how the Te Horo community responded to the challenge of our Road Rai$e campaign and to come up with such a wide range of fundraising events and activities. There were many leaders and even more supporters, all generating ideas and keen to take on the challenge. The magic was in the energy and commitment of everyone involved. New friendships were made, and the greatest reward was a real buzz in the community - the likes of which few could remember experiencing before. Well done, Te Horo!
Our fundraising has also benefitted from the support of local businesses, with Kelly & Co Realty, Otaki taking the lead with a very generous $20,000 sponsorship.
Other businesses provided prizes for raffles and food for events – with special shout outs to Stanmore Farm, Otaki New World, JB’s Levin and Land Matters Ltd Otaki. Promotional support was provided by Property Brokers Otaki in conjunction with Web2Print, Stuff and NME. As well, Coast Access Radio, Beach FM, Otaki Today and Otaki Mail all helped to tell our story further afield and to promote events.
As well as the community fundraising, the Hall Committee put significant effort into applying for grants from various funding institutions, and has been fortunate to receive:
· $20,000 from Pub Charity;
· $90,000 from the Lotteries Commission Environment and Heritage Fund;
· $125,000 from the Lotteries Commission Facilities Fund;
· $15,000 from the Waikanae Community Board; and
· $5,000 from the KCDC mayoral fund (thanks to Mayor, Janet Holborow) to offset some of the building consent costs.
The Committee’s original fundraising target to quake-strengthen and upgrade the Hall (including improvements to the kitchen, exterior cladding, and outside facilities) was an ambitious $500,000. Having achieved $466,000 of that target, we are now comfortably able to commence with our top priority of quake-strengthening (originally budgeted at $335,000, but since revised to $350,000 due to additional regulatory costs).
In deciding to proceed with quake-strengthening now, the Committee noted the Government’s proposed review of the regulatory system for assessing and managing earthquake-prone buildings. However, given that the extent of any resultant changes won’t be known for some time, we felt it was important to strengthen the Hall without delay. This means we can move forward confidently with future upgrades rather than put things on hold for what could well be another extended period of uncertainty and continued deterioration of the building – as has happened for many community halls across the country.
Doing the quake-strengthening now, also means we will have a stronger and more resilient hall which the community can enjoy with confidence well into the future, including as Te Horo’s emergency management hub. This is what our community has asked for and energetically supported, and the Committee will deliver on that.
Te Horo Hall’s bright future is now assured, and the Hall Committee is extremely grateful for all your fundraising support and encouragement.
I’d like to finish by sharing the following whakatauki (from one of our Committee members) which perfectly captures the past year of planning and fundraising for the Hall Committee:
Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei.
Seek the treasure you value most dearly. If you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.
Nga mihi,
Andrew Annakin
Chair, Te Horo Hall Committee
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