Influx of new members for Kaitaia Red Cross

Kaitaia Red Cross secretary Tammy Peri, with Gayleen Insley and Northland area council deputy chair Dave Pennington, area council chair Helen Phillips (front left) and Linda Hoani, now Whangārei.

The future wasn't looking flash for Kaitaia Red Cross earlier this year. The branch had until June to find five new members, but it's done rather better than that.

Secretary Tammy Peri said on Tuesday it had found nine new members, and while it was, and always would be, looking for more, the future was much more assured.

Northland area council deputy chairman David Pennington, who travels to Kaitaia from Whangārei on a monthly basis, said he was very pleased with the way the branch was growing.

"We're in a rebuilding phase in Kaitaia. We're putting together a whole new team, and Tammy is doing a fantastic job. A few months ago the branch was probably going to fold, but there's no danger of that now."

The tsunami warning on March 5 had provided a good test for Red Cross in Whangārei, he added. Members and volunteers had set up and been prepared to man evacuation centres, and while they weren't needed, everyone had been on high alert until the warning was lifted.

The job in Kaitaia was now to establish an organisation that could respond in similar fashion in a future emergency.

"It's about helping the community to be prepared," he said.

"And resilient," area council chairwoman Helen Phillips added.

Meanwhile, Peri said the Kaitaia branch was networking well with the community, including being one of 42 local organisations that Civil Defence had brought together recently in one room.

The branch was also receiving solid support from the community, not least the Department of Conservation, which was providing it with office and meeting space at its offices in Matthews Ave.