Trustees Amy Banks and Matthew Ockleston inside the chapel-turned boardroom on the property. Photo: Viv Posselt
An open day at Kids in Need Waikato’s Cambridge base on Sunday is intended to be not only another family-fun event, but also the public launch of the charity’s Legacy Project campaign.
The campaign powered up late last year. It is aimed at securing Kids in Need Waikato’s future by raising an initial $1 million to facilitate the purchase of the Fencourt Rd property it rents from the charity’s founders Graeme and Linda Roil, then another $1 million for its long-term development.
Kids in Need Waikato is holding an Open Day at its Fencourt Rd base on Sunday. Photo: Viv Posselt
Just five months in, they have raised just over $170,000 and hopes are high that with various fund-raising events planned, including a gala later this year, they will be on their way to future-proofing the charity.
Kids in Need Waikato began in 2014 when the Roils began fostering children in need. They soon started turning community donations into care-packs for children up to the age of 18, and their caregivers, quickly developing into a major enterprise that has grown like topsy across their family property in Fencourt Rd.
Amy Banks and Matthew Ockleston inside the unit currently operating as an Air B&B and caregiver retreat. Photo: Viv Posselt
The Kids in Need Charitable Trust was established in 2018, and it is that body that is leading the Legacy Project as the Roils prepare to step back. The plan is to future-proof the charity by buying the property from the Roils, thereby enabling an expansion of services and unlocking access to grants and funding possibilities not available to renters.
The charity has grown to support more than 560 caregivers and 1300 children in the Waikato each year, and an average 168 care-packs go out monthly.
The stained-glass window, donated in kind by local companies, is situated high in the chapel and carries an image that mirrors that on the charity’s logo. Photo: Viv Posselt
Sunday’s Open Day at the property will enable people to look behind the scenes, meet the team, see the facilities and what they do, and enjoy a family day out at the same time.
The Open Day will showcase various ways in which people can get behind the Legacy Project. These will include painting rocks, buying into one of five park benches or purchasing bricks.
Kids in Need Waikato Trust chair Amy Banks with fellow trustee Matthew Ockleston are leading the charge to future-proof the charity. Photo: Viv Posselt
