The team of Kerikeri Woodchoppers who have raised around $400,000 for charity over the past 17 years.
It’s said that chopping wood gets you warm twice - once during the work and then when it’s burnt - but a group of Kerikeri woodchoppers is spreading extra warmth by raising more than $400,000 for charity.
Out the back of an idyllic citrus orchard in Kerikeri you’ll find the burgeoning woodchopping enterprise with a knack for philanthropy and raising much needed money for charity.
Dressed in orange ‘Team Fred’ T-shirts and manning log-splitters and chainsaws, this group of Northlanders is helping the Fred Hollows Foundation NZ.
For 17 years Kerikeri Woodchoppers has collected, split, dried, and sold firewood, all with the sole purpose of raising money for the foundation which aims to end avoidable blindness and vision impairment in the Pacific.
“Blindness isn’t one of those fancy things that you can’t pronounce or only one in a million get, it’s quite a common thing,” Kerikeri Woodchoppers founder Mike Collins said.
The group of volunteers began small, with a handful of baby boomers that saw the strength in community and that collective change could happen.
“The idea with firewood was that there were plenty of trees that were being felled and burnt, and yet people were buying firewood. And I’d been thinking about perhaps a fundraiser for Fred Hollows – so I took the idea to the church committee, and they supported me,” Collins said.
Inspired by the late Professor Fred Hollows, an internationally acclaimed eye surgeon and social justice activist, the group mirrored his pragmatic and practical approach and has since built up a lucrative woodchopping enterprise.
“Fred was just out there doing. You know, it’s a real Kiwi thing, you just get on and get these things done,” said Yvonne Hooper, a founding member of the group.
In the first year the Woodchoppers raised $6000, and now a decade and a half later the members proudly presented the foundation with their most recent $10,000 donation during a celebration at the wood yard - bringing their total contributions to $400,000.
Katie Hart, the foundation’s philanthropy and communications director, attended the event and said the group’s sacrifice of time and effort really embodies Fred Hollows’ own can-do attitude.
“The Kerikeri Woodchoppers [members] have given countless hours of their free time to raise money for the foundation – donating more to us than any other community group in the country.
“It’s a monumental commitment, that really makes our work possible and has enabled us to restore sight to countless individuals throughout the Pacific who may otherwise have gone needlessly blind.”
Collins said the success of the group stems from the passion of its volunteers and the different skills each person brings, as well as buy in from the local community.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do much myself, I did have the idea, but it’s been the group that’s made it a success. We’ve all fitted in as we have different likes and skills – some people are chainsaw enthusiasts, right down to the guy who stacks the wood and loads the ute. We’ve fitted in this way, and it just works.”
With the current volunteers aged between 57 and 84, they are always looking for fresh members, especially those who can operate a chainsaw. As well as raising money for a good cause, the group offers a caring community and plenty of laughs.
“Not only are we giving overseas, but we are also caring for one another. There’s very much this community within the Woodchoppers – they’re incredibly welcoming and very inclusive, that’s what makes it so much more,” Hooper said.
The group meets every Thursday morning at Collins’ 36ha farm on Kerikeri Inlet Road.
There are 26 active members who take on the different tasks required from splitting, stacking and delivering the orders.
Anyone interested in joining the Woodchoppers, donating logs, or purchasing wood, can contact Mike Collins on okuraplantation@gmail.com
■ Kiwi eye surgeon Fred Hollows dedicated his life to restoring sight to the needlessly blind. He was determined to end avoidable blindness.
Hollows restored sight to thousands of people around the world and trained countless eye doctors to do the same. He believed everyone, rich or poor, has the right to quality, affordable eye care.