Sunday 1 December 2013

Rotary Tauranga Waipuna Hospice Book sale makes huge impact

The Rotary Club of Tauranga was delighted to donate $12,000 to Waipuna Hospice.  This amount was fundraised during a six-day book sale between September 19-24, thanks to Titles of Aongatete Bookstore who generously donated the books, and Tauranga Rotary Club members who also volunteered their time and resources to ensure that the book sale was managed seamlessly.

 
Barbara Thomson with Past President Mark Dean

Volunteers who staffed the book sale were pleased with the interest and generous financial support by many members of the Tauranga community, particularly when shoppers noticed that the funds were being raised to support their local hospice.

Waipuna Hospice Chief Executive Officer Dr Richard Thurlow was grateful for the support generated at the book sale. He commented, “Waipuna Hospice are thrilled to be the recipient of the significant funds raised by Tauranga Rotary Club. These funds will go towards resourcing front-line services to have a direct impact on our local Western Bay of Plenty community, both patients and families, and assist Waipuna Hospice in its significant annual fundraising challenge of $2.3 million. Staff and Board members are very appreciative of the effort and time that Tauranga Rotary Club donated to make this event a success.”

The efforts of the volunteer army were also noteworthy. When reflecting on the success of the book sale, Tauranga Rotary Club President Ann Pritchard added, "We felt the book sale for the hospice went well, and almost all club members helped at some point. We would also like to thank those Friends of Rotary who assisted us, and we acknowledge the volunteers from the hospice who came along too."
 -          By Giselle Wansa, Rotary Club of Tauranga