Achievement House workfloor staff and Santa enjoying last week’s Christmas party, organised by the Rotary Club of Cambridge.
Last week’s Christmas ‘knees-up’ at Achievement House went a long way towards celebrating a year’s work well done with hopes for an even better 2024.
The enterprise relies heavily on charity and community wellbeing, and its annual party at its Wilson St premises is the highlight of the year for those working there.
For the past 12 years, their festive fling has been organised by the Rotary Cambridge Club and supported by cafes and restaurants who provide the Christmas fare. The inclusion of Rotary’s popular Bruised Brothers band – which debuted its new finery at this year’s party – has always meant the event has turned into a rollicking good time.
“We are extremely well-supported by the community … by Rotary and the hospitality sector in particular,” said Achievement House manager Neil Fynn. “For some of the people working here, this might be the only social function they attend for Christmas. It means so much to them and is very important for us.”
Achievement House provides people with disabilities an opportunity to be employed within a community. Most of the workforce comes from around the region, primarily Cambridge, Hamilton and Te Awamutu. They assemble, label and package components for various companies to an exacting standard.
Neil said 2023 had been quiet as businesses continue to struggle post-Covid and in a tight economic environment.
“There was an initial flush immediately after the pandemic but that has tailed off. There have been a few peaks and troughs this year and a couple of businesses have dropped out, which means we are looking for more firms to consider us when looking to outsource some of their work. I’m very proud of the high quality our workers maintain.”
New this year is the establishment of the Achievement House website, he said, and it is via that platform that interested businesses can make contact.
Cambridge Rotarian Laurie Graham described the level of support given to the Achievement House Christmas party by local hospitality outlets as remarkable.
“The generosity of Cambridge restaurant and café owners is unbelievable,” he said. “Some go well beyond providing the food and go out of their way to make sure everything is in place for this event. They come on board year after year… I cannot speak highly enough of them.”
Rotary Cambridge president David Partis said the club was proud of its strong association with Achievement House and was honoured to put on the annual Christmas party for the team. He also thanked the businesses who contributed and the Rotary club members who volunteered at the event.
