19 April 2019

Giving back to the Waipuna community

For more than 12 years, Crombie Lockwood Tauranga staff members have been involved in all types of voluntary work to support the operation of the Waipuna Hospice. 

Crombie Lockwood Tauranga Group Broking Manager Janine Rodgers says, “We became involved with the hospice more than 12 years ago when the organisation was struggling to find funds, and we wanted to do something to assist them. It has been a great way to build relationships within our team and give something back to the community. 

"Our team members have come together inside and outside office hours to help with many different voluntary activities, such as helping to prepare goods for sale in the charity shops.

“Last year the team banded together and donated Christmas presents to two families with loved ones under the care of the Hospice, just something to make life easier for those families,” says Janine.  

The team members have also acted as ushers for shows and concerts, as well as attending the annual remembrance service where the team takes charge of marshalling the car parking, as well as being the fire wardens, and also preparing the afternoon tea for the guests.

One of the voluntary tasks carried out by the team is a quarterly wash of the buildings at Te Puna.

“It’s great to work with the team from Crombie Lockwood; they are a fun group who are so friendly and professional in everything they do for us” says Waipuna Hospice Chief Executive Richard Thurlow. 

“The Crombie Lockwood team have washed the building down more times than I can remember, but this is a huge cost saving to us. They have become friends of the organisation and we value their contribution enormously,” he says.

Bay of Plenty team fundraise by wearing shorts for the shortest day.

Crombie Lockwood staff are part of the more than 800 strong team of volunteers, who in the past year have given 79,655 hours of their time to the Hospice.

Operating the Hospice’s six charity shops is one of the most important roles carried out by volunteers. It’s an important source of revenue for the organisation, in addition to fundraising events, grants, bequests and donations.

For the Hospice to continue to grow the services on offer and at no charge for the people from the wider community in need, they need to raise $3.7 million annually, in addition to its current District Health Board contracts.

This year the Waipuna Hospice will provide specialist care for nearly 1,000 people in Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty region; with its nursing staff making more than 13,000 home visits and 19,000 phone calls to patients and families.

While the organisation’s main focus is to provide hospice services in the home environment, it also has  a nine-bed inpatient unit for short term admissions and a day services clinic located in Te Puna overlooking the Wairoa River.