Care packages head to Dartmoor residents via inflatable raft as their bridge had been washed away.
Care packages head to Dartmoor residents via inflatable raft as their bridge had been washed away.
Central Hawke’s Bay woman Diana Greer appreciates a good hug.
She’s been getting her fair share of them lately and it all goes to show - what you give out, you get back.
Greer is the spark in the engine that drives The Collective Hug, a network of volunteers working to bring some cheer to the Hawke’s Bay farmers battling against the ravages of recent weather and the challenges of making a living from the land.
Diana Greer taking delivery of a donation for the Collective Hug.
The Collective Hug germinated during the drought of 2020, which combined with Covid to create “the perfect storm” for producers of crops and livestock.
“When Poppy Renton started the HB Farmers Drought Page on Facebook, to offer farmers positive messages and help, I thought it was a great initiative and offered to make a couple of fruitcakes,” Greer says.
That was the start of it.
A few of the 3000 donated paper bags being filled with goodies for a delivery run.
Fruit cakes became food donations, people started baking and from her CHB home Greer organised delivery runs in May and mid-July, 2020. A company donated 30 tonnes of dog roll, pallets of canned soup arrived, and many other contributions were made and Greer organised more deliveries.
“It all happened so fast, it’s a bit of a blur now. I came up with the name ‘The Collective Hug’ because that’s what it felt like.
“The rural fraternity is good at helping one another. They have each other’s backs. I’m passionate about anything rural and always have been so it felt like a good thing to do - helping each other and giving morale a boost.
“A lot of people baked and donated and a lot of people helped deliver. During that drought we covered from Te Pohue and Tutira towards Porangahau and everything in between.”
In February, when Cyclone Gabrielle struck, Greer and her husband Jerry - a Central Hawke’s Bay district councillor - were at the beach.
And Greer said: “I have to do something - I think I’ll crank up The Collective Hug again.”
The machine swung into action.
Diana Greer and some of the air crew and volunteers who flew parcels into Tutira.
“The two events were polar opposites, but they needed the same sort of response. I was asked to do an interview on the radio, which I did and then the offers of help started coming in. Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were offered, and we took this up and did a huge drop-off to Tutira.”
Donations of food started arriving, a bank account was opened and people from outside the area donated funds, which Greer used to buy green vegetables, milk, cheese and butter for delivery to areas that had little access. Greer also put out a call for bread makers and was given five; they were delivered to areas also with limited access, along with bread mix, yeast, dozens of eggs and litres of milk.
There was even a welcome donation of 3000 paper bags.
“I’m normally a private person,” Greer says, “but I love doing this and I am prepared to push out of my comfort zone to get it done.
Donations from Taranaki filled this freezer.
“I’m a good ‘asker’ - I have no problem asking for things, you just have to be prepared for people to say no.”
Greer got in touch with Whittaker’s and it donated a huge amount of chocolate treats, Taupo Pak’nSave gave Easter eggs, and after an email to Scully’s three huge boxes of body products arrived at her front door.
A friend who worked in a pharmacy got in touch with an Elizabeth Arden rep and not too long afterwards Greer was told there were 35 boxes of product.
“I thought they would be samples, but it was Ceremide face cream, White Tea fragrance and hand cream and the wonderful 8-hour cream, the look of delight on the women’s faces realising there is a treat especially for them is so heartwarming.”
Over a coffee at the Paper Mulberry, Travis Henry of Henry’s Pies came on board, using product donated by First Light Meats and Anzco to produce meat pies.
Women from Auckland sent pallets of meals, Taranaki Rural Women sent two pallets of meals and baking.
“I made best friends with people all over the countryside who have chillers. In the early days, We got given sugar, flour, rice and pasta to make meals. My grandkids’ bedroom was full of foodstuffs. Makirikiri Marae have picked up product to cook with, they cook weekly for distribution.”
Greer is adamant that The Collective Hug is a collective effort.
“There is absolutely no ‘I’ in team,” she insists.
“I could do all I like but there’s no way I could co-ordinate let alone complete all these deliveries. The Collective Hug relies on all our bakers and cooks and deliverers, and the goodwill of other people. We have a co-ordinator in most districts, from Putorino to Pongaroa, they choose the date and let me know how many parcels will be required, I organise the goodies and help pack. Then we let the district know we’re coming.”
“You really have to see it to get the full impact. I travelled some beautiful country that has been completely decimated. Hawke’s Bay is still beautiful, but it has some very big scars that will take a long time to heal.
The famed fruitcake that started the whole thing is still included in many of the packages.
“The reaction when people get a parcel just makes my day. I love doing the deliveries on a fine day, but it’s just as important to be out there on a vile day. This random woman/man turns up and hands you a care package - it’s an acknowledgment of what has happened out in our rural areas, to our rural people. There’s still a lot of trauma out there.
“I was interviewed for radio, after the initial Collective Hug initiative in 2020, I was asked if there was another drought would I do it again and I said - yes, in a heartbeat, never thinking it might be a cyclone.”
