Two months after Christmas another remarkable thing happened to us … which we are calling ’Ten Days of Shock n Awe’ …
(Van filled with goods from Gladstone Primary School)
Just prior to Christmas we received a $15,000 donation from someone that wished to remain anonymous… and that kind of started the ball rolling in Christmas and then this happened.
It has probably been the most uplifting 10 days I have had ever at the beginning of March 2015… so I thought I have got to put it in writing to you all… to share and get off my chest:
- Air NZ Lost Property gave us 150 pairs of shoes … which we took to Glen Taylor School … mainly kids shoes
- Abes Bagels gave us 5 pallets of Bagel Crisps … about 3000 packets. We shared with all our 5 schools and Salvation Army Glen Innes.
- Manukau and Sylvia Park Shoe Clinic donated us 60 pairs of top line sports shoes. These were shared with the netball girls at Randwick Park, Glen Innes and Glen Taylor Schools … and also some teachers.
- One of our Rotary Epsom supporters offered to pay the difference between what we had in our account for our van and the actual cost … guestimated at about $8,000.
- Kensington Swan Solicitors offered us 17 high spec computers … which we delivered to Glen Taylor School the same day
- Hubbards Cereal gave us 35 boxes of cereal … all of which was delivered to our 5 Breakfast Clubs as well as Clendon Park School Breakfast Club.
- One of our supporters who owns an Import/Export company donated to us 86 x 25 kilo bags of rice. This was immediately distributed to:
- All of our 5 schools
- Randwick Park Community
- Clendon Park and Takanini Schools in South Auckland
- Salvation Army Panmure and Mt Wellington Food Bank
- Te Atatu Peninsula Food Bank
- Carterton Food Bank (Waiarapapa)
- Women’s Refuge and Mens Home in Whakatane
- We are looking at starting our Life School Programme targeting the bright kids in two of our schools. Today our ‘Rice’ donor has offered to partner with us with a project from Rarotonga working with the High Commissioner there and a Company producing Spices and working with villagers in the outer Islands. We are sending 10 of our children to St Kentigern College every fortnight to work with their brightest kids along with a team from Auckland University. It has been suggested that royalties from this project will go towards Breakfast Club and two of these children will receive a all expenses trip to Rarotonga to see first hand this project in action.
- Thinking that nothing could get better … one of our Advisors met with Continental Cars in Newmarket over our van … and they have agreed to sell us a 2014 VW Caddie Max with 7000 kms … and donate to us $13,000 from the cost.
- Lastly … just when I thought nothing more was going to happen a friend turned up on our door-step with 100 kilo of mince for our families. I was stunned … and was telling my wife how this is surely the end … when I got another call to say that there was 54 kilo of grated cheese for me at Glen Innes School.
I have never had such a period as this … of constantly receiving goods and services.
The following week was set down for picking up our new van. We knew that the Car Dealer was asking slightly more that the money we had put aside … and were guessing that it would be $500 – $950 more.
We receiving an email from this Car Dealer giving us the delivery date as Friday and that it would be costing us $23,500. I was wrapped that it was only costing slightly more than what we had put aside and then there was a message on my ‘facebook’ that read:
“Steve my company Rentakil Initial is having a staff function this month and we want to donate $1600.00 to your trust … is that okay?”
Once I picked up the new van I drove it out to Hubbards (to show off) and immediately they offered to assist with funding the sign writing.
The next newsletter will be about our van and it’s new signwritng.
