Eastern & Central Community Trust (ECCT) makes funding donations to community organisations in Poverty Bay, Hawke's Bay, Tararua, Wairarapa, Manawatu & Horowhenua.
Hawke's Bay
Recent support for Hawke's Bay Projects
A total of $191,000 in general funding has been donated to Hawke's Bay community groups: Central Hawke's Bay receives $24,800, Hastings $79,800, Napier $73,900 and Wairoa $12,500 Wairoa. The region also shares a further $260,000 in larger donations.
Rainy days and large gatherings cause havoc with the Tangoio Marae's 30 year old septic tank but help is on the way, with a $40,000 donation from the Eastern and Central Community Trust.
The marae, just north of Napier, is frequently used and has a pre-school kohanga alongside for local children.But the septic tank no longer meets current hygiene standards and is being replaced, and a new ablution block is also being built. The project is expected to cost almost $60,000, with some funding being provided through Lottery Marae Heritage grants.
Other Hawke's Bay community groups to receive smaller, general donations this month include Keirunga Garden Arts and Crafts Society, $4,000, toward an ongoing upgrade of the 1906 heritage homestead; $4,000 to the Hawke's Bay Plunket Society for new car seats for its rental service and $2,500 to Summer in the Parks, for the 2012 summer series of free public concerts.
Flooding and game cancellations on Hastings' Ellwood Park may be coming to an end, with a major project underway to improve drainage of the site, which is home to Hastings Rugby Club and shared with the Hawke's Bay Polo Club.
The two sports provide year-round use of the grounds but serious flooding problems force regular ground closures and disruptions.
The proposed drainage system is likely to cost more than $160,000, with a donation of $30,000 from the Eastern and Central Community Trust kicking off the fundraising.
The ground is privately owned but is an important rugby park for Hastings. Both the Hastings District Council and the Hawke's Bay Regional Council are also working to help alleviate the ongoing problems by upgrading drains surrounding the park. This will help prevent water from Ellwood and Otene roads, and the nearby Hawke's Bay A & P Showgrounds flowing onto the sports fields.
A $20,000 donation from the Eastern and Central Community Trust will see further development at Napier Intermediate School which has been undergoing a major rebuilt during the past two years.
The donation will double the size of the school's Astroturf to half-sized hockey pitch. The existing small turf is already used for hockey, netball, basketball and tennis, with the extension proposed to cater for primary school summer league hockey tournaments.
Napier's Community High School will soon be able to replace its 10-year-old van, following a $15,000 donation from the Community Trust. The school provides short term, alternative education to secondary students who have been suspended, stood down or face expulsion. It has almost an 80 percent success rate in helping students to refocus on their education. The van is essential to transport students to various educational programmes.
Napier's Richmond School is $7,500 better off, with its donation being used to provide improved technology at the decile one school in a low socio-economic area where many children do not have access to technology at home.
A commissioner was appointed to run the school two years ago but a new principal has been appointed this year, Greater use of IT within the school is a new progressive initiative with the purchase of ipads to help encourage greater excitement about reading and literacy.
Two other Napier schools, St Patrick's and Port Ahuriri have each had donations of $5,000 approved. St Patrick's will use its funding towards the cost of new play equipment, replacing gear with is more than 30 years old. The school is hoping to raise $40,000 to complete the project.
Port Ahuriri School will also be using its Community Trust funding towards play equipment, with plans for a new fitness course.
A $3,000 donation to Wycliffe Nga Tamariki Kindergarten, which has a roll of about 40 children, will go towards the cost of buying new resources, including a waterproof, shockproof camera so children can learn to record the world around them.