New wheels helping Heretaunga Women’s Centre SuperGrans get around

Artist Abbey Merson (left), HWC Manager, Amanda Meynell and GM Harcourts HB James Cooper with the Heretaunga Women’s Centre’s new car. Photo / Supplied

Since starting in 2020 the Heretaunga Women’s Centre SuperGrans have wanted to expand by offering home-based life skills mentoring and support, however, have not had the ability.

Now with their flash new wheels, there are almost no limitations to where the SuperGrans can go to help women in the community.

The SuperGrans support women to develop life skills through one-on-one mentoring and workshops.

The programme aims to empower women to gain knowledge and skills to improve their daily living, personally and within their family and whānau.

SuperGrans mentors are women of all ages who walk alongside and mentor other women, supporting them to develop skills including cooking healthy meals on a budget, gardening, growing food, CV writing, applying for jobs, budgeting, sewing and more.

After deciding last year that the group needed a car, the SuperGrans applied for grants and the First Light Foundation provided the Heretaunga Womens Centre with $4280 toward their new car’s lease.

With the new car in hand, the SuperGrans decided it needed a bit of colour. Hawke’s Bay artist Abbey Merson donated her Hydrangea artwork to make the centre’s car eye-catching, and then the team at Harcourts HB sponsored getting the car wrapped.

This is a first for the centre and it will enable them to provide much-needed life skills, mentoring and support to women at home.

Manager Amanda Meynell is very excited to now have a Heretaunga Women’s Centre vehicle and said this means the centre can expand its support to reach women.

Meynell praised artist Abbey Merson’s contribution and said, “we are absolutely thrilled to have such a beautiful vehicle”.

“It’s certainly eye-catching and enables us to start conversations with women about the support we offer at the centre and how they can get involved,” Meynell said.

“While the SuperGrans Heretaunga team will mainly be using the car, it will also be used to support our general business, for example passing on donated goods, and transport for our team to travel across Hawke’s Bay for meetings, appointments and training courses.”

The centre explained that the new car has also been invaluable after Cyclone Gabrielle for deliveries of donated goods to women and families in need.

A range of goods and items were donated to the Heretaunga Women’s Centre for women and whānau affected by the cyclone.

“Having this car has meant that we have been easily able to pass on these goods to a number of amazing organisations and marae working tirelessly to support those affected by the cyclone,” the manager said.

The car is a big step in expansion for the SuperGrans as prior to getting this car, they weren’t able to offer the scope of work that they wanted to.

“We do amazing work at the Heretaunga Women’s Centre building, but the car enables us to expand and extend our services reaching more women in our community,” Meynell.