With funds raised for the Evergreen Foundations Cyclone Relief fund we were able to make a difference to education in our community.
This programmes aims have been to support rural families from flood-affected areas who send their children to one of Hawke’s Bay’s boarding schools and were experiencing financial and/or emotional hardship as a result of the Cyclone.
Boarding Schools supported: Hereworth, Hukarere Girls’ College, Iona College, Lindisfarne College, Napier Girls High School, Napier Boys High School, St Josephs Maori Girls’ College, Te Aute College, Woodford House.
In talking to school principals, we quickly became aware of many rural families affected in Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti/Gisborne. In response to that, the committee allocated $320,000 – administered at the discretion of the Principals – and agreed to dollar match funds raised by those schools up to a maximum of $20,000 per school.
We provided a further $261,000 to the nine Hawke’s Bay boarding schools serving over 600 students attending from Cyclone affected areas. Many of these students were cut off from their homes and families because of the Cyclone.
Initially funds were used to cover the extra cost of travel to reunite families, but later contributed to school fees to support rural families suffering financially form the costs of the Cyclone. The school principals allocated the funds where they were best needed.
In addition to this we contributed $66,000 to other schools which supported transportation and counselling costs arising from the Cyclone.