Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust announces final grants

Three years after its first funds were granted, the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trustees has this week granted $8 million to 20 new local recovery projects and announced that the nearly $100 million donated to the Appeal has been substantively allocated to Canterbury.

The Trustees made the final announcements at The Court Theatre in Christchurch to a large gathering of grant recipients and local dignitaries, to celebrate the impact of Appeal donations on communities in greater Christchurch.

Since the launch of the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal on 27th February 2011 by Prime Minister John Key, a total $99 million of donations have been received or pledged, $98.4 million has been approved to projects, and $600,000 from a SKY Television pledge will be allocated over the next three years.

Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trustee Dr Rod Carr explained “every single dollar donated to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal has counted. Every dollar went directly to a community project in Christchurch or Canterbury and on behalf of the Trustees I thank everyone who made a donation, it is thanks to your generosity that so many great local initiatives could be funded quickly.”

From early 2011 Trustees chose to focus on communities not individuals, not to duplicate the work of government and other funders, and to fund the projects that would otherwise take many years of local fundraising to address.

The Trust is no longer receiving funding requests but the Trustees will continue to meet as required to make funding decisions concerning projects that directly benefit people still struggling, and on any other matters.

The $98.4 million has benefitted projects across six portfolios: $35.85 million (36%) to large permanent projects; $20.82 million (21%) to heritage and culture projects; $18.91 million (19%) to sport and recreation projects; $13.68 million (14%) to hardship/spiritual and faith projects; $4.88 million (5%) to economic revitalisation projects; and $4.27 million (4%) to education and youth projects.

The final new local recovery projects backed this week are:

Redcliffs Public Library - up to $50,000 towards relocating a replacement building for the former library demolished following the earthquakes.

Riccarton House - up to $50,000 to complete earthquake-related repairs and strengthening to allow it to reopen to the public.

Bright Start Scholarships - up to $57,000 to provide additional earthquake-related scholarships for 20 students in 2014/15. The UK Appeal Trust has kindly funded this project.

Squash Canterbury - up to $60,000 to repair and upgrade three squash courts at the YMCA in central Christchurch to ensure there is an adequate number of courts across Christchurch following the closure of earthquake damaged and other courts.

Rāpaki Marae - up to $80,000 to repair the wharekai used for wider hapu events and gatherings, damaged as a result of the earthquakes.

Let’s Find & Fix initiative (CanCERN) - up to $100,000 to fund temporary repairs to uninsured houses in time for the 2014 winter.

Christchurch School of Music - up to $100,000 to establish a permanent administration hub near the classrooms used for teaching, following the demolition of its earthquake-damaged premises.

Showbiz Christchurch - up to $138,000 For additional works on its replacement building on St. Asaph Street so that it can continue to support grassroots performing arts groups in Christchurch.

Centre of Contemporary Art - up to $140,000 to complete the earthquake-related repairs needed so the gallery building can re-open to the public.

Spencerville Community Hub - up to $150,000 to provide a new facility for community groups that lost important facilities in the earthquakes.

Scottish Society of New Zealand - up to $182,500 to repair its earthquake-damaged hall built 1884 in St Albans, for use by the Society and community groups.

West Spreydon School pool - $200,000 towards repair of the school’s large outdoor swimming pool. SKY Television is kindly funding this project.

Christchurch Community House - up to $240,000 to fit-out permanent premises in Tuam Street to provide a home for a large number of small to medium sized community groups displaced by the earthquakes.

Sports House - $250,000 towards fit-out costs of an administration hub at the Metro Sports Facility to provide a home for a minimum of 10 regional sporting organisations displaced by the earthquakes.

Boosting Residential Advisory Services - up to $300,000 to extend the residential advisory service to help people still working through insurance and housing issues.

North Avon Christchurch BMX Club - $456,000 to replace the track and surrounding facilities that sustained extensive earthquake damage to provide a venue for national and international meets.

Glenelg Health Camp (Stand Children’s Services) - $500,000 towards rebuilding the entire facility that was destroyed by the earthquakes, so it can reopen to children in need.

Surf Life Saving - up to $850,000 towards the rebuild and repair of four surf life saving clubs so that surf life saving patrol services can continue. The Surf Life Saving clubs that will receive funding are Taylors Mistake ($300,000); South Brighton ($150,000); New Brighton ($300,000); and Sumner ($100,000).

ChristchurchSymphony Orchestra - up to $1.25 million to help the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra establish a permanent rehearsal and administrative space to replace its venue lost in the earthquakes.

Relieving hardship - up to $2.84 million towards projects that benefit people still struggling as a result of the earthquakes, via social services and advisory services.

In March, the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust granted $2.5 million, including $1.25 million from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, to reconstruct the Armagh and Durham Streets stone towers of the Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings (which collapsed during the earthquakes), to enable the repair of the wooden buildings, so that the complex can be reopened for public use.

The work of the Advisory Board has officially ended, although members may be called upon to advise the Trustees on the $15 million ‘Connecting the City to the Sea’ project.

The Department of Internal Affairs will continue to monitor and administer the grants for the 10-year life time of the Trust.

Other projects funded with Appeal funds include: community centres for Aranui, Mt Pleasant, Belfast and Opawa; St John emergency equipment; rebuild and restoration of the Clock Tower and the Great Hall at the Christchurch Arts Centre; supporting Canterbury’s 200 youth workers; repair and rebuild of Plunket facilities; over 60 neighbourhood events to foster community connectedness; $15 million “Connecting the City to the Sea” through eastern Christchurch; the Re:START mall; and, repairing sports fields and netball/tennis courts.

Click here to view a full list of projects funded by the Appeal Trust.

The Trust is an independent charity, registered under the Charities Act of New Zealand and is governed and operated by the Trustees independent of government.

4th March 2014 - CHRISTCHURCH ADVANCES PLANS FOR POST-EARTHQUAKE SPORTS HUB