Christian Love Link is a very busy charity. Made with funding from NZ On Air.
When Hawke’s Bay man Ian Jones saw a perfectly good set of drawers being discarded at the local refuse station, he couldn’t help but think of it as a wasted opportunity.
“I asked the guy who was throwing them out, what was wrong with them, and he said they needed a repair. I thought to myself, I know someone who can fix that.”
This is the ethos of Jones’ Hawke’s Bay charity Christian Love Link, a team of 40 volunteers who, in 2023 alone, distributed pre-loved and donated furniture to 968 families in need.
Whether it was a private pensioner struggling to pay for new furniture or a call up from an agency such as Kāinga Ora, Jones said there was no shortage of need in Hawke’s Bay this year.
“Of that 968, 94 of those were Cyclone Gabrielle related,” Jones said, referring mainly to a generous donation of beds from Bed’s R Us, which supplied 150 mattresses to help those in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, and Wairoa who were affected.
And now, after 31 years of operating, the message really remains the same this year: think twice before you throw something out.
“A lot of people write things like drawers off and throw them away when they are actually really easy to repair,” Jones said, citing his team of dedicated furniture fixers.
Ian Jones (left) and Jason Henderson Christian Love Link loading furniture that will be distributed to Hawke's Bay families in need. Photo / Warren Buckland
An overall outlook for the year ahead isn’t something that Jones and his team really get a full picture of, as requests are continuing to flow in. Many are from agencies, and over half are from people asking directly for help.
“We are sitting on a fair few outstanding requests, and lots of them are for things we are still trying to source. Things like tables and chairs, and drawers, are always in short supply,” he said.
“Just before Christmas we got an email to say that Kāinga Ora was opening 15 new houses. We won’t see all of those, but even if we get a few per cent of those, that’s a lot.”
Jones said a couple of trends in the clients they were seeing were reflective of the demands of society.
“We’re probably helping more people that are working. You’ve probably heard the term the working poor. The other group we are also helping - which is distressing to us because we are mostly retired - is retired people.
“Ten years ago, that’s not a group we would ever encounter.”
Ian Jones (left) and Jason Henderson loading repaired furniture at their Napier depot. Photo / Warren Buckland
The best way to help these people, Jones said, was offering up your surplus, and the organisation would be able to help facilitate this.
“It’s a calling for us. Everyone’s here because we want to care for those in the community that aren’t in a position to help themselves.”
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
