Peace lily project raises money to help Starship Hospital

Organisers of the peace lily project at We Sow You Grow, one of two locations the plants were for sale. Photo / File

A homegrown campaign has raised money for Starship Hospital in honour of a brutally beaten Flaxmere boy.

The Flaxmere peace project has raised $1383 over the past few months for Starship Hospital through the sale of peace lilies.

It was organised in February by Flaxmere locals Colleen Lowe, Lesley Riley, Brent Harris from We Sow You Grow, Chris Hart from Flaxmere New World, and Lynsey and Haira Abbott from One Voice Community Services.

They wanted to give back to Starship Hospital where a 4-year-old boy from Flaxmere who was badly beaten in January was being cared for.

In April, the last public update on the case that outraged Hawke's Bay and the nation, said the boy was conscious and able to talk.

No arrests have been made.

The project aimed to show Flaxmere's thanks to Starship and to do something positive in the community.

Peace lily plants - chosen for their name - were sold at We Sow You Grow and Flaxmere New World.

The organisers told Hawke's Bay Today they wanted to say "a huge thank you" to anyone who supported the project in any way.

The final sum came from donations and the sale of the plants and has been deposited into the Starship account organisers said.

They also apologised for the delay in updating the public and said Covid-19 closures and restrictions had affected some members of their team.

They had hoped to have more of a handing over ceremony but because of Covid-19 restrictions felt it best to deposit the money sooner.

"We are very grateful for all those who participated, and because of these extenuating circumstances, we are disappointed in the final outcome of it having to be finalised in the way it has," Lowe said.

Originally, they had planned to send a plant to Starship but are unable to because of Covid-19 restrictions.