Fundraisers dish out $90,000

Therese Jeffs, Whare Aroha Care chief executive officer, was happy to receive funding from Mike Bannister, charity luncheon trustee. Photo / Stephen Parker

Recipients of a $90,000 fundraiser in Rotorua at the end of last year have now received their cut of the funds raised by the community.

The inaugural Rotorua Charity Luncheon last November was organised by a combined Rotary group consisting of Rotorua Lakes, North, West and Sunrise Rotary Clubs.

Mike Bannister, past president of Sunrise Rotary and trustee of the charity luncheon, said 11 organisations within Rotorua were gifted the $90,000 to share among them.

"The three main recipients were the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Cancer Society, St John Ambulance, and Whare Aroha Care who shared $54,000 between them."

Rotorua Community Hospice, Riding for the Disabled, Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Plunket Rotorua, Rotorua Lakes Coastguard, St Chad's Rotorua, Rural Volunteer Fire Brigade, and the Sunset Primary School Breakfast Programme shared the remaining $36,000.

"The participating Rotary clubs got together and nominated who they thought the money should go to and out of all the names they got the trustees chose the charities," Mr Bannister said.

He said they would be doing a similar process this year and they had set the date for the next one on November 18.

Rotorua Lakes, North, West and Sunrise Rotary Clubs hosted the charity auction, and this year they will also be joined by Rotorua Rotary club for the second Charity Luncheon.

With more than 440 people in attendance last year the event was littered with laughs and entertainment while people engaged in both silent and live auctions.

Mr Bannister said he was hoping this year's luncheon fundraiser would be bigger and better.

"We had 440-odd people come last time and we are aiming for 600 this time."

He said they wanted people to come along and enjoy a drawn-out lunch full of entertainment.

The item that scored the biggest ticket price last year was a Hyundai Accent car which sold for $25,000.

An All Blacks jersey signed by the World Cup-winning side fetched $14,000 while another of the team's jerseys from the beginning of the season sold for $9500.