Three charities win a cool Frizzell fridge

Dick Frizzell shows of one of his arty fridges. Photo / supplied

Three lucky charities are celebrating after winning a fridge decorated by leading Kiwi artist Dick Frizzell.

Organisers of the celebrity-driven Cooking 4 Change project have chosen the recipients after being snowed under with 253 nominations from community groups looking to win one of the $3000, customised appliances.

Auckland-based Frizzell - co founder of the best-selling Cooking 4 Change recipe book - designed a fun wrap for the Haier multi-door fridge. The winning charities can keep it or turn it into a fundraiser.

After a final public vote, the appliances have been awarded to the Ruakaka Dog Rescue, The Incubator in Tauranga and Bellyful from Christchurch.

Cooking 4 Change ambassadors, TV personalities Erin Simpson and Colin Mathura-Jeffree, said it was a tough job choosing the recipients.

"All entries were so deserving, I just wish we had more fridges," Simpson said. "It was up to the public to vote, Colin and I simply did our best to select finalists that in our opinion would really benefit from receiving or on-selling a fridge for profit."

Frizzell was inspired to make a fun shopping list to decorate the appliances with after a chat with his youngest grandchild.

Mathura-Jeffree was blown away by the high number and wide range of nominations.

"I love that New Zealand voted with such diversity in their choice," he said. "As I've always said, we must support our communities in all different aspects because that creates a brighter, more balanced future."

Ruakaka Dog Rescue was started by Jackie Boyd and Sacha Berger in 2014 after concerns about the number of stray dogs in the township.

"We are overwhelmed at being awarded a Frizzell fridge," Boyd said. "Each puppy we rescue costs about $500 so we may eventually auction off the fridge to help pay for our de-sexing programme, which is working really well."

Bellyful Christchurch's mission is to deliver meals to families with young children who are struggling with illness and where there is little or no family or social support. Their meals are provided for free and there is no financial assessment of the family.

The Incubator is an artist collective study and project space in the Historic Village in Tauranga. It is a collaborative gallery and working space for art-project exhibitions.

"The arts and creativity tend to be at the bottom of the pile when it comes to receiving funding, so we are thrilled to be a winner of such a prestigious item," Incubator director Simone Anderson said.

WIN WITH THE HERALD ON SUNDAY

The Herald on Sunday has teamed up with Cooking 4 Change and Haier to give one lucky reader a new fridge/freezer.

The HMD440X has a recommended retail price of $3119 and a capacity of 440 litres. It's special features include an LED lighting tower, child lock feature, frost free technology and hidden hinges.

We are sorry we can't add the fancy Frizzell artwork, but a new fridge is certainly a great prize.

To enter, go to winwithheraldonsunday.co.nz and enter your details. The key word is fridge. The competition closes at 5pm on Wednesday, March 29.