November 2010 Donations

Refurbishing the St John’s Ambulance premises, hosting a Celtic festival and building a mountain bike track are just some of the projects the Otago Community Trust has contributed to this month.

The Trust's donations amounted to $175,654 to 36 organisations throughout Otago for November, said CEO, Mr Keith Ellwood.

• St Johns Alexandra

The St John’s Ambulance building in Alexandra is about to undergo a major facelift, including refurbishment and reorganising areas to make the most of space. The offices will be upgraded, meeting areas modernised and staff facilities including kitchen and sleep areas made more functional. The ambulance bay will also be improved.

Area Chairman Grant Milne said the aim is to produce a more modern and comfortable workplace to a standard that better meets the needs of the six permanent staff and around 20 volunteers, and to provide a useful meeting space for courses and for community use.

Mr Milne said the $35,000 donation received from Otago Community Trust will make a real difference to the fundraising. “It would be very difficult to move ahead without such donations – I think that would be a lot of cheese rolls to sell.”

• Celtic Arts Festival

Dunedin will have plenty of opportunity to celebrate its New Zealand Celtic culture next year.

The Community Trust has donated $10,000 towards the Celtic Arts Festival, which will be celebrating all things Celtic during next year’s Rugby World Cup, including hosting dance events, art exhibitions, lectures and three major concerts.

Run by the New Edinburgh Folk Club, the festival will be run in September over the three weeks of the World Cup. Club Treasurer Kathryn Olcott said the celebration of music, arts and culture is aimed to appeal to as many people as possible, Celt or not. “Dunedin is the Celtic capital of New Zealand so it will be an opportunity to celebrate the city’s Celtic heritage, and for visitors to see the unique Celtic culture that has evolved here in New Zealand.
www.dunedincelticarts.org.nz

• Alexandra artist in residence house

The Trust has donated $7,500 to the Henderson Arts Trust towards upgrading its artist in residence property in Alexandra.

The residence project is funded by the Henderson Trust, with the artist living rent free in Henderson House on Bridge Hill for a year. Designed by Austrian architect Ernst Plischke, who settled in New Zealand during World War Two, the property is currently undergoing a major refurbishment.

Trust Administrator Martin Haanen said having an “artist in residence” living in Alexandra has numerous benefits. Central Otago enjoys the exhibitions, workshops and community involvement the nationally respected artist brings. The Artist is inspired by the southern lifestyle and people and of course by the beautiful Otago landscape across all four seasons, and their ensuing contribution to the arts is a boost for all New Zealand.

New Zealand poet Kevin Ireland is the current artist in residence.

• Other Dunedin donations

The Dunedin Gifted Kids Charitable Trust received $6000 to assist with buying equipment, including computers, printers, and software, for the Pakiki Kids (gifted and talented kids) classroom at North East Valley Normal School. The programme has mentoring input from the University of Otago, local high schools and Dunedin businesses.

Mountain Biking Otago Inc received $2250 towards constructing a six kilometre long track for cyclists, walkers and runners from Logan Park High School to the top of Signal Hill. The track will form the backbone of a world-class mountain bike park, currently being developed at Signal Hill. It is estimated 15,000 people a year will use the track.

Canteen Otago received $2000 towards sending 20 young people suffering from cancer to a camp in Nelson in December this year. And Camp Quality South also received $2,000 towards the costs of sending 25 to 30 deserving children and carers to a camp in Wanaka in January.
 

 

Southern Otago

Clutha Valley Primary School’s juniors are one step closer to a brand new playground.

A $10,000 donation from the Otago Community Trust will go towards the cost of building a new playground specifically for the junior school at the Clydevale school. The new area will incorporate some of the existing apparatus, along with some brand-new play equipment, into a modern playground design that will be the focal point for the whole Clydevale community.

Friends of the School spokesperson Michelle Pringle said the younger children at the school are keen to have an area they can call their own, with equipment that is specific to their developmental and play needs. “They’re looking particularly forward to being able to reach everything, something they can’t do in the current shared playground at the school,” she said.

The school is hoping to start stage one of the project early in the new year and are planning to open as soon as possible in 2011.

The Otago Community Trust also donated $1500 to the Balclutha Toy Library to assist with hosting a parenting seminar "Hot Tips for Parents- How to Grow a Happy Child" in Balclutha.
 

 

Central Otago

The St John’s Ambulance building in Alexandra is about to undergo a major facelift, including refurbishment and reorganising areas to make the most of space. The offices will be upgraded, meeting areas modernised and staff facilities including kitchen and sleep areas made more functional. The ambulance bay will also be improved.

Area Chairman Grant Milne said the aim is to produce a more modern and comfortable workplace to a standard that better meets the needs of the six permanent staff and around 20 volunteers, and to provide a useful meeting space for courses and for community use.

Mr Milne said the $35,000 donation received from Otago Community Trust will make a real difference to the fundraising. “It would be very difficult to move ahead without such donations – I think that would be a lot of cheese rolls to sell.”

The Otago Community Trust has also donated $7,500 to the Henderson Arts Trust towards upgrading its artist in residence property in Alexandra.

The residence project is funded by the Henderson Trust, with the artist living rent free in Henderson House on Bridge Hill for a year. Designed by Austrian architect Ernst Plischke, who settled in New Zealand during World War Two, the property is currently undergoing a major refurbishment.

Trust Administrator Martin Haanen said having an “artist in residence” living in Alexandra has numerous benefits. Central Otago enjoys the exhibitions, workshops and community involvement the nationally respected artist brings. The Artist is inspired by the southern lifestyle and people and of course by beautiful Otago landscape across all four seasons, and their ensuing contribution to the arts is a boost for all New Zealand.

New Zealand poet Kevin Ireland is the current artist in residence.

The Maniototo Curling International Trust also received $5000 from the Community Trust to help with the cost of installing a heat exchange system in the indoor curling risk at Naseby. This system will use the excess energy produced from the current rink operation and convert it back into heat which will be used by the facility.

The Middlemarch Swimming Club Society Inc will put the Trust’s $10,000 donation towards replacing the diving board as part of current repairs to town’s swimming pool.