Rotary Club of Wanganui North raffle raises funds for 13 emergency response kits

Raffle organiser Mike Green (left) presents winner Mike Dolman with the toolbox.

A fundraising effort by a Whanganui Rotary Club will help with future emergencies in the Pacific.

In late January Cyclone Gita tore through the Pacific, causing major damage in Tonga and surrounding islands. Rotary New Zealand provided 700 emergency response kits, costing about $600 each, to assist the relief effort.

Replacement kits were needed to restock the Auckland storage facility and the Rotary Club of Wanganui North raffled a toolbox to help raise some of the funds required.

Raffle organiser Mike Green said he was humbled by the support and especially a $600 donation from a member of the public.

"It is a fantastic result which has enabled 13 emergency response kits (ERKs) to be assembled ready for any emergency in the Pacific," Green said.

Although it was a Rotary Club of Wanganui North project, Green said it would not have been possible without the help of BP London St, Trafalgar Square, McDonalds Machinery, Countdown Victoria Ave "and more importantly the thousands of people from far and wide who bought tickets".