The Mission Concert has long been a valuable collecting ground for the Rotary Club of Napier, whose cheerful volunteers walked the packed hillsides with their collection buckets.
The club has worked with the Mission since the first concert. Large teams of volunteers looked after parking and in return were given access to the great crowds for bucket collections, gathering about $300,000 over the years for local charities.
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Neil Diamond cancels Mission gig and others after Parkinson's diagnosis
About 100 volunteer collectors were set to be part of this year's concert, but plans for what would have been the big Neil Diamond 50 Year Anniversary Tour concert at the Mission on St Patrick's Day dissolved when it was cancelled because of Diamond's health issues.
"The Mission has always been our biggest fundraiser so it was a blow," said Carol Hall, who manages the Mission fundraising expeditions, adding though that their immediate thoughts were for Diamond.