Hawke’s Bay flood relief: Stewart Group’s gala night raises more than $27,000

Stewart Group's Hawke’s Bay cyclone relief gala night was a huge success with $27,500 raised to help those impacted by Cyclone Gabriele.

OPINION

They say charity begins at home. For those of us who call Hawke’s Bay home, nothing could be truer when thinking over the past months.

Cyclone Gabrielle was akin to a terrible postcode lottery; some houses flooded to the eaves, while others had a soggy backyard for a day or so. The immediate calls for clothing, toys, food and other necessities were met and exceeded many times over. Folks got stuck in (quite literally) and dug others’ homes back out of the silt.

It was this same spirit we saw this past Saturday at our gala night. With the help of our generous guests, Stewart Group (with support from Rotary) is proud to announce the event raised $27,500 for the Hawke’s Bay Disaster Relief Trust.

That’s $27,500 extra to help Hawke’s Bay communities, individuals, families, community organisations and marae get funds for assistance to recover from the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle.

The Gala Night was much more than an excuse to get the glad rags on ... but it was certainly that too. Napier’s Old Church venue provided the glitz, while our esteemed guests brought plenty of glamour.

The smiles, the generosity, and the kindness of everyone in attendance made the evening a wonderful night among new and old friends. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank those in attendance and all those who donated prizes for the raffles and auctions.

Rory O’Neill (left), Germaine Meeuws, Don Stewart, Bruce Jenks, Brent Allcock, Nick Stewart, Prathme Rabeshen, and Paula Enticott at the Stewart Group cyclone relief gala night.

Guests enjoyed a couple of wonderful operatic songs by multi-talented Stewart Group adviser Brent Allcock.

Some guests such as local design consultant Alan Passchier were so kind as to have their winning item re-auctioned, so we could raise some additional funds. Ka pai!

This was a community effort, for a community-focused outcome. I would like to thank the local legends and organisations who made this night not only possible, but special:

Rotary, our MC Kevin Wagg (Property Brokers), Joe Snee for presiding as auctioneer (Property Brokers), our wonderful musical talents Jarrod Carwood (pipes) and DJ Shane Hawkins (DJ4U), photographer Simon Cartwright, Kaye (Beaukayes) for the beautiful floral arrangements, and Orton Catering for not only supporting the event but also providing one of the Live Auction items. I would also offer a special thanks to our own front-of-house, Germaine Meeuws, who worked tirelessly to plan this event.

We still have a long road to recovery ahead of us in the Bay. We also have an incredible community of resilient, kind people who would give the shirt off their back (in a fairly literal sense) to help their neighbours. These moments of aid may not be the end of the tunnel for some, but they’ll light the way until the end is in sight.

Nick Stewart

Stewart Group