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Staff at Maygrove Village in Ōrewa have held a fundraising event with a difference, offering their amateur artworks for sale in support of a local group helping grandparents who are raising their grandchildren.
The project doubled as a teambuilding exercise, with care staff joining those in the kitchen, housekeeping and sales for a fun “paint and pinot” evening, assistant village manager Toni Hatton said.
The 19 participants, most of whom have never painted before, each painted a picture of a scene or object at Maygrove. Subjects ranged from a stacked hamburger to a rainbow over the village to a rotund individual playing bowls.
“We have a good relationship with contractors working on an upgrading project at the village,” Toni said. “We asked them for donations, and they generously pledged $100 each.”
Each drew a number, to see which painting they had won.
“We said they could keep it, donate it back to the artist – or use it for firewood.”
The village put the unsigned pictures on display and Maygrove residents were invited to “vote” for their favourite by inserting a token into a numbered jar, along with a small donation.
The silent auction and “people’s choice” voting raised a total of $2553, and on August 2, the proceeds were handed over to Grandparents Parenting Grandchildren (GPG), a local support group which Maygrove Village established a relationship with late last year.
Members had been meeting elsewhere, but the village offered them a venue for their monthly meeting, together with a hot lunch.
Toni said the fundraising idea was born after GPG members spoke of the difficulty providing a special Christmas experience for the children in their care. The group provides practical support and fellowship to grandparents who have become primary caregivers to their grandchildren.
