There are no new cases of coronavirus in New Zealand today. It is the first time in almost six weeks that testing has not uncovered a single case across a 24 hour period.
Charities that rely on community fundraising as part of their income have taken a big hit during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hospice Whanganui chief executive Karen Anderson said the organisation's shops provided a significant revenue stream and, with their closure since the lockdown, that had been non-existent.
Hospice has three shops,located in Tawa St, Duncan St and Victoria Ave.
"We've been really fortunate in that we've been able to secure the wage subsidy, so we're able to continue paying our staff and delivering services," Anderson said.
The Hospice Boutique in Victoria Ave is one of three Hospice Whanganui shops that have been closed since the lockdown. Photo / Bevan Conley
Hospice was looking at other fundraising options after the cancellation of Artists Open Studios.
The Hospice Boutique in Victoria Ave had been scheduled to take part, in collaboration with Whanganui Prison artists. It was now intended to try to sell artworks online instead.
"The Gonville shop has also put some special collectable items on TradeMe to try to get some revenue generated while we're still in level 3," Anderson said.
"We did have Awareness Week planned for the middle of May which is when we reach out to the community, which does result in donations to us. We're still working on what that might look like for us this year.
"It's difficult times for everyone but please, our donors, hang in there with us. We're still going and we intend to keep going."
St John, like most other charities and businesses, is experiencing significant financial fallout from Covid-19, central regional general manager Andrew Boyd said.
The organisation's projected deficit to the end of the financial year (June 30, 2020) has grown by more than $10 million since the country went into lockdown.
St John op shops are closed and many community programmes have been suspended. Photo / Bevan Conley
St John has contracts funded by the Ministry of Health and ACC. They cover about 72 per cent of the operating costs of the emergency service, and the remaining 28 per cent is funded through emergency ambulance part-charges, and undertaking fundraising, donations and commercial activities.
"St John's emergency ambulance service, community health programmes and commercial activities like event medical services and public first aid courses have all been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic," Boyd said.
"In addition to the emergency ambulance service, St John operates community programmes in the Whanganui area, such as Youth and Health Shuttle, which are operated primarily by volunteers and funded by fundraising activities and proceeds from the Whanganui Op Shop."
The lockdown forced the closure of St John op shops and many community programmes were suspended, with the organisation also cancelling its Heart of Gold annual appeal.
"This was a tough decision as St John relies upon money raised by the annual appeal and other fundraising activity to support the day-to-day running costs of the ambulance service. But we felt it necessary to focus on supporting the country's emergency response to Covid-19," Boyd said.
"We have now identified a need to accelerate the production of emergency vehicles and lifesaving equipment as we head into winter to enable us to respond to the public, no matter what the situation. The additional ambulances will give greater resilience and allow St John to deploy vehicles where they are needed most urgently."
St John is fundraising for 10 new ambulances. Photo / Bevan Conley
Fundraising has started to get 10 ambulances onto the frontline as soon as possible, with ASB donating the first ambulance. The public has, to date, donated an additional $230,000 which will fund the purchase of a second ambulance.
