This Christmas the Herald is again featuring charities which have been selected for a $10,000 donation from Auckland Airport. Eleven charities have been chosen and the 12th donation will go to the families of the Pike River 29. The $120,000 came from change given by travellers at the airport this year.
The building housing the food bank run by Glen Innes Citizens Advice Bureau is in a sorry state. The roof leaks, the door is bent and many of the rivets holding the whole thing together have popped.
But this will soon be a thing of the past. The bureau is one of 12 groups receiving a $10,000 grant through Auckland Airport's 12 Days of Christmas project. Manager Jacqui Arnold says the food bank is run out of a tin garage.
"We are delighted to receive the funds from Auckland Airport, as repairs and maintenance of the food bank simply wouldn't have been able to happen otherwise," Ms Arnold said.
"The garage is regularly broken into - three times this year, in fact. We need to make the place more secure, with easier access for our volunteers, many of whom are elderly. Currently they have to release four padlocks and two regular locks, which is a bit tiresome if it's raining.
"The grant means we can repair the roof and the floor which needs replacing because of rain damage. We can fit a proper door with shelter from the weather."
The Glen Innes bureau has been operating for 39 years and is the second oldest in Auckland, after Grey Lynn.
The food bank has been running for 20 years and provides about 20 parcels a week - and many more around Christmas.
But helping feed families is just one service the bureau provides. Budgeting guidance, relationship advice, drug and alcohol counselling, legal advice and information on local services are also available.
"Like many other not-for-profit organisations, we can only provide our service through the goodwill and dedication of our volunteer base and the airport funding is a real thrill for them at the end of a busy year," said Ms Arnold.
The 33 volunteers at the Glen Innes bureau are just some of the 2600 people who man 61 bureaus throughout New Zealand. Although partly Government-funded. citizens advice bureaus depend on donations to top up their coffers.
As Ms Arnold puts it: "This $10,000 is a Godsend".
