Central Hawke’s Bay mates stand together for Gumboot Friday

A group of young CHB mates came up with a novel fundraiser for Gumboot Friday.

A group of Central Hawke’s Bay students “stood together” for Gumboot Friday - on top of fence posts, and their result has exceeded their expectations.

Some of the group, from schools around CHB, are veterans of Waipukurau Primary student Finn Tennent’s Gumboot Friday fundraisers. Last year he convinced nine of his mates to walk 21km wearing gumboots, and raised $3418 for the cause.

This year, perhaps remembering the blisters and gumboot-rubs from last year’s effort, Finn proposed his mates “stand together” on fence posts on Takapau Rd, Waipukurau.

The group of mates had swelled from last year’s nine to 15, and then expanded further when friends in Gisborne hopped atop fence posts in support.

Still more support turned up on the day, as two students who came along to contribute to the donation bucket climbed atop a spare post each and joined in.

The students are “a group of mates fundraising for when a mate may need just a little bit more than a group of mates.”

Donations were collected in a bucket wielded by a supporter deemed “too small to stand on a fence post” but who put their hours into collecting and waving.

More donations came in via the group’s Givealittle page.

With a goal of raising $3500 and topping last year’s total, the crew stood for three hours - some almost continuously while others had a few falls, not helped by the fact it was a windy day, but they were happy to climb back up again for the cause.

Tennent had a bit of a head start on the fence-post balancing. He and his siblings had come up with it as a competition between themselves, during Covid lockdown.

There were a few falls, but the team of mates made it to their three-hour goal and raised more than $4000.

The group exceeded all expectations. Last week their Givealittle page - Stand Together for Gumboot Friday - was sitting at just over $4020.

Tennent says his fundraising team was “a group of mates fundraising for when a mate may need just a little bit more than a group of mates”.

He’s hoping that next year the idea will spread - he’s going to challenge other areas to join CHB and Gisborne and gather their mates to “stand together for Gumboot Friday”.

Gumboot Friday, an initiative founded by mental health advocate Mike King, is a free counselling service for any young person in New Zealand aged 25 and under.