Abbeyfield WBOP: A steady climb up the fundraising barometer

The Abbeyfield Western Bay of Plenty development is closer with fundraising reaching the $325,000 mark. Carole Parker and Peter Charlton mark the barometer outside the Talisman Hotel. Photo / Rebecca Mauger

Red tape means good news for Abbeyfield Western Bay of Plenty.

It’s another notch on their funding barometer which is on the Talisman Hotel fence. They’ve hit the $325,000 mark and another section of the barometer has been marked to celebrate.

In a fantastic fundraising boost, says chairwoman Carole Parker, the charity received $54,000 in the space of a week.

‘’We had a $50,000 donation from an anonymous donor along with $4000 raised through donations and a fundraising event,’’ she says.

Another exciting fundraising opportunity is in the wings as they have recently applied for funding and are working with two major providers.

‘’The time scale for completion of the process is the end of August so this is a major priority that our strategic team is working on.’’

The Abbeyfield model provides affordable rental accommodation for people aged over 65 with modest or no assets and the local development is destined for a section on Wills Rd.

Recent fundraising events have included the annual Claymart Golf Tournament at Fairview Golf Club in April which raised $4500 and Katch Katikati donated the proceeds from their Taylor Bros Sheds and Studios Ramble.

‘’The funding raised to date has been through generous donations by individuals, companies, trusts and private philanthropists and extensive fundraising over the past three years.’’

Last year the committee set up a fundraising barometer on the Talisman Hotel fence to mark their progress. By September they’d hit the $200,000 mark.

Carole says they already have a waiting list of 22 people, showing that interest and demand is high in the area as marketing has not commenced yet.

Among the coming events are the movie A Stitch in Time showing in June and Katikati Theatre is running another murder mystery in July.

Abbeyfield Western Bay of Plenty

● The Wills Rd section size is 2020sq m and the house will be 776sq m

● All residents need to be independent

● Rent covers suite, food, power, internet, the house’s general overheads and sinking fund for maintenance

● Each resident will have their own front door along with internal access to shared lounge, dining room, kitchen, laundry and other shared areas

● A housekeeper will be responsible for preparing lunch and dinner each day, with residents able to get their own breakfast in the shared kitchen and dining room

● Volunteers will help with the gardens, minor maintenance and the day-to-day running of the house