Nadine Gaunt of Re-Source with items of baby clothing.
Nadine Gaunt of Re-Source with items of baby clothing.
Turning one person’s waste into another person’s necessity has kept a lot of items from the landfill and community organisation Re-Source very busy.
Re-Source is the brainchild of Nadine Gaunt and it marked three years as a registered charitylast month. Nadine began donating clothing and bedding to the Family Start programme at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga around eight years ago.
“Over the years I watched highly trained professionals managing donations on top of their regular work. I realised that a centralised service to collect, sort, repair and distribute donated items could reach those most in need and free up services to concentrate on their skilled mahi.”
Cressida Hickman of Re-Source sorting clothing.
Re-Source is now based in Flaxmere and provides support from Ahuriri to Bridge Pa.
“We removed those boundaries during the cyclone relief effort and delivered supplies from Eskdale to Waipawa,” Nadine says.
Re-Source is a referral-only service, accepting donations via Facebook and email, rehoming everything from a car to full house contents.
“We are always keen to hear about items people and businesses no longer require. If we don’t need them for people in need, it’s possible we can match them with another charity or community support organisation. For example, we love taking gardening equipment to community gardens.”
Nadine believes people donate because they like to know their donated items will be preselected by a social/case worker, plunket nurse or teacher.
“We also repair, upcycle and repurpose a number of items. This waste minimisation approach appeals to many people. We ask donors to check with us before sending in damaged items such as drawers. Our space is very limited and too many items needing repair could greatly hinder our service.”
This year Re-Source has already collaborated with more than 70 other organisations in Hawke’s Bay, placing donations “where they will have maximum impact”.
Getting ready for a delivery are Dewald Botha of Re- Source (left), Kerrie Waby, The Acorn Project and Nadine Gaunt of Re-Source.
The organisation is made up of two part-time drivers, a part-time clothing manager, a general manager and a dedicated team of volunteers.
“At the depot we have around 12 volunteers a week, more during term time when the Special Needs Unit from Havelock North High School kindly share their time with us. We have around the same number again who work from home sewing, laundering and repairing furniture.”
Dewald Botha of Re-Source. Photo / Warren Buckland
Nadine says they are very grateful for the support of the Sewing Room and Laundry Crew at HB Prison Mangaroa and corrections officer Clare Turner.
“In the last 12 months their work washing and recovering old pillows has helped us keep around 800 pillows out of landfill and into the hands of people in need. They do much more besides and can be rightly proud of the contributions they have made to the cyclone relief effort.”
Nadine says Re-Source has a unique approach to deliveries.
“We do not deliver on our own behalf, instead we act as a courier for the referee. We would typically greet an individual with “Kia ora, we have a delivery from Cate at Plunket”, for example. Our delivery team does not look for thanks or gratitude. Our aim is to reduce the client’s discomfort with receiving donated items and support a trusting relationship with their referee. Respect is foremost in our minds.”
Since the cyclone, the team soon realised more space was needed.
“The racecourse kindly opened their doors. Re-Source was active for 18 continuous days, processing in excess of 70,000 donations, before starting the transition back into our regular service. The community’s needs changed so quickly - what was needed in the morning was often different to what was required in the afternoon.”
Nadine says Garrid from Martin Roofing came along to the racecourse and offered not only his skill in logistics but a fleet of vehicles and drivers.
“They were instrumental in delivering the fuel and many other jobs. We owe them our sincere thanks.”
As well as passing on donated items, they received substantial financial donations that allowed them to buy supplies requested by the communities, including $1500 of fuel, PPE, tools and medical supplies.
“The communities’ needs are now falling back into our regular sphere of work, so we are now back at our depot ready to tackle the next stage of the recovery journey.”
Items most in demand are always bassinets, cots, stain-free beds and drawers, as well as “anything else that makes a house a home”. What they don’t have is space.
Bags of baby clothing ready for distribution.
“We could do so much more. A workshop on-site would increase the amount of furniture we could repair and save from landfill. A laundry and a sewing room would help us tackle more of the clothing and fabric waste in our community and it would be wonderful to offer classes in how to turn old bedding into pet beds for example. All this takes space and space is expensive. Re-Source needs financial support to turn items of no value into assets for the community and to find the right homes for unneeded items at no cost to the recipient families or organisations.”
