I am writing to express my gratitude for the incredible support shown by the Rotary Club of Havelock North during Taskforce Kiwi’s disaster relief operations in response to the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawke’s Bay.
By our count you have supplied our volunteers with over 1,000 packed lunches since we launched cyclone relief operations in February.
This support has been crucial to operations, sustaining the 194 volunteers we’ve deployed, who have carried out 5,598 hours of skilled labour to date.
This has been a Kiwi-led, multi-national effort, including veteran-volunteers from similar organisation in Canada, Australia, the UK and the US, providing vital assistance to Hawke’s Bay communities, and your support has played a major part in allowing these operations to take place.
Your support has also allowed our volunteers, the majority who are defence and emergency services veterans, to gain invaluable operational experience as we continue to grow and develop as an organisation. This is vital as we scale and prepare to face the challenge of future natural disasters.
Please pass on to your team my thanks for their support, for the great lunches, and for enabling Taskforce Kiwi to have a positive impact on both our volunteers and communities in need.
Kind regards, Richard Adams, National Director, Taskforce Kiwi, Papanui, Christchurch