(From the back left) Petra Allen, Dean MacFater, Lynda Armstrong, Linda Scott (from the front left)
Hamish Mackay, Paula Wade and Sharon Warburton. Photo / Mark Brimblecombe
(From the back left) Petra Allen, Dean MacFater, Lynda Armstrong, Linda Scott (from the front left)
Hamish Mackay, Paula Wade and Sharon Warburton. Photo / Mark Brimblecombe
Whanganui's Women's Refuge now has its own mortgage-free premises on Ingestre St with more than $120,000 raised from the Higgins Great Ball.
The money raised from the August event at the Whanganui War Memorial Centre has allowed the organisation to buy the building outright.
Women's Refuge board member Sharon Warburtonsaid they were humbled by the donations.
"Our community really owns this building because the support that we had from this community, businesses individually and companies nationally who chose to support us, it was overwhelming and so really this building is a testament to this community."
With the organisation's lease expiring at the previous premises they looked into buying, and moved into their new property in January 2018.
"This building is what we call our hub, headquarters, a place where women can come to for advice. It's a nice place for our staff to work and be effective in trying times sometimes in the workplace."
Warburton said the first Great Ball in 2016 raised $90,000.
They then applied and later received a $60,000 grant from the Four Regions Trust which gave them the confidence to put an offer on a property.
She said an anonymous benefactor lent them the balance to buy the property and by holding another ball they were able to pay the balance back.
After the 2016 Great Ball people were coming up to Warburton at the end of the night asking when the next one would be so it prompted them to do another, she said.
The official handing over of the cheque for $90,000 raised from The Great Ball in 2016. Photo / Bevan Conley
A committee of 10 people, four from the board of Whanganui Women's Refuge and the rest being individual business people, worked for nine months to plan and prepare for the ball and the silent and live auctions.
Entertainer Tina Cross and Dancing with the Stars contestants Glen Osborne and Vanessa Coles performed on the evening.
Their silent auction included being a firefighter for a day, a child's bike, gourmet salad for a year, a deer hunt, an extreme 4WD experience, Earl Bamber memorabilia, scenic flights and jewellery.
In between the two balls, a cocktail lounge function in 2017 raised $33,000 for the organisation.
Warburton said four years of collective fundraising included money from three Women's Refuge pop-up shops.
She said they would consider holding another ball but it would fundraise for another important project for the organisation.
"Domestic violence is this monster that we're really the service at the end of the line for domestic violence and we can guarantee we will identify some massive needs that our conventional funding just simply won't meet."
Board member Paula Wade said they are now catching their breath and focusing on Christmas, which can be a busy time for them in an unfortunate way.
Wade has stood down as chairwoman of the board after six years with Hamish Mackay appointed to the role at a recent AGM.
Board members and the Great Ball committee members celebrated their success with Women's Refuge staff on November 13 by presenting a cheque to Mackay.
