Supporting the cause are Janine Granger, Aaron McDonald, Dave Letele and Ben Rose. Photo / Supplied
Supporting the cause are Janine Granger, Aaron McDonald, Dave Letele and Ben Rose. Photo / Supplied
Community advocate Dave Letele has been blown away - again - by the generosity of global companies who have stepped up to the plate with more donations to his charity to support the flood victims of Cyclone Gabrielle.
The Herald reported last month that the US company Binance had made an initial donation of $260,000 crypto (that was exchanged for $US162,000) via its philanthropic US Binance Charity arm.
Binance NZ general manager Ben Rose, who has been supporting Letele’s efforts, has then hooked the charity up with more global organisations, including FLUF World and Futureverse who organised a push to their Web3 community to donate in the form of collectable NFTs (non-fungible token). Non-fungible is something that is unique and can’t be replaced, whereas by contrast, money and cryptocurrencies are fungible, which means they can be traded or exchanged for one another.
A total of 87 NFTs were donated by individuals and auctioned.
This NFT was auctioned for $12,250. Photo / Supplied
The largest single NFT sale reached 4.63ETH (approximately $NZ12,250) and a total amount of $NZ111,000 raised overall. The auction culminated on Monday night in a telethon-style podcast, that encouraged the NFT community to dig deep and bid generously for the prized NFTs.
“The web3 community is fast thinking and this technology is purpose-built for turning community action into usable value. The team at Futureverse have decided to match this money with an additional $100,000. Through the good work of Letele and his team at BBM.
The a telethon-style podcast auction on Monday. Photo / Supplied
“We know these funds will reach the most vulnerable communities in the worst hit areas,” says Futureverse Founder Aaron McDonald.
Easy Crypto jumped in and worked alongside the Web3 and cryptocurrency communities to set up QR code wallet addresses for individuals to donate into. This spurred an additional $12,000 in donations from crypto coins ETH, BTC, DOGE, SOL and XRP.
“The incredible generosity and speed that the crypto community displays during crises never fails to amaze me and the current situation in the North Island is no exception with our industry and communities rallying to support those kiwis in need,” says Easy Crypto CEO Janine Grainger.
The Charity Auction raised $222k for Cyclone Gabrielle whānau. Photo / Supplied
Brands who have also helped Letele in his mission include Fisher & Paykel, Comfi Beds, Haier and Foodstuffs to name a few.
Last week Kiwibank also donated $200k to Letele’s flood relief fund.
“It’s all happened so quickly and I’m just so proud to be standing alongside these incredible companies and leaders who have put thoughts into action to make this happen. Kiwis are really in distress out there and at BBM we don’t just talk, we do,” says Letele.
“These whanau aren’t insured and they’ve lost everything. They need beds, fridges, sofas, washing machines, kitchenware and more. When we arrive at these homes some of them literally have nothing, and when we leave, they have a home. We have so far helped 24 families and we currently have a waiting list for 40 more.”
