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Home / The Country

Growers give back: Hospice, charities to benefit from trust's nearly $200,000 gift

Caroline Fleming
By Caroline Fleming
Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
29 Jul, 2019 08:00 AM3 mins to read

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Susan Mills helps Helen O'Hara at Waipuna Hospice, which has been donated $70,000. Photo / George Novak

Susan Mills helps Helen O'Hara at Waipuna Hospice, which has been donated $70,000. Photo / George Novak

Western Bay kiwifruit and avocado growers are making their trays go that little bit further, raising more than $180,000 for charity.

A trust set up by Tauranga company DMS Progrowers allowed growers to opt into donating a cent or two per tray of fruit to support local community organisations.

The company vowed to match every cent and together they have raised $186,675 for Western Bay charities, including a $70,000 sum for Waipuna Hospice.

DMS Progrowers joint managing director Craig Greenlees said he had the idea for a trust that would give back to the community about a decade ago.

He said he thought at the time that it was important the flourishing kiwifruit industry gave back.

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However, soon after, the sector was devastated by the PSA bacterial disease.

DMS Progrowers joint managing director and charitable trust member Craig Greenlees. Photo / Supplied
DMS Progrowers joint managing director and charitable trust member Craig Greenlees. Photo / Supplied

Greenlees said he didn't forget the idea and once the industry was back on its feet, he decided the business was in a financial position to go ahead with the plan.

He said a large number of growers joined the trust and with around 30,000 trays picked annually per grower, the money flooded in.

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Some growers had even donated more than $10,000 themselves, he said.

The trust was made up of growers and leaders from DMS Progrowers, who decided to split the selection of charities for the grants into two sections.

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The first was for general services to the community - a charity that many people would have used or may need to use in the future - and the second was charities that help children and families in need.

Greenlees said this guided them to choose Waipuna Hospice as their key beneficiary, donating $70,000 to the organisation.

Many growers would know someone who had used the hospice's services in the past.

The $70,000 would be used to fund night nurse salaries.

Another $50,000 would go to the Waipuna Hospice Foundation towards the long-term development of services.

Waipuna Hospice in Te Puna. Photo / George Novak
Waipuna Hospice in Te Puna. Photo / George Novak

Waipuna Hospice's director of marketing and fundraising Sasima Pearce said the donation was "so great" and "extremely generous of the growers".

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She said the hospice's on-call night nurse service had become busier over the years and the funding would help maintain it.

She said it allowed patients to be visited after-hours in the comfort of their homes, instead of having to rush to the emergency department.

The hospice also planned to fund a new community nurse shift to bridge the period between 5pm and around midnight, she said.

EmpowermentNZ, who run Te Puke's Food Bank service, will receive $35,000 and two Katikati organisations have nabbed $15,000.

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