ROTARY CAR TO SERVE OUR YOUTH
Young people in Canterbury (NZ) will now be able to access free healthcare at 298 Youth Health, regardless of their transport situation thanks to 19 Rotary Clubs from across Christchurch.
Article by President Paige Sullivan, Rotary Club of Lincoln and District 9999 Board Member
298 provide free healthcare and counselling to young people in Greater Christchurch aged 10 – 25. Established in 1995, they are one of 11 Youth One Stop Shops (YOSS) in New Zealand, providing a number of youth services in one place. While 298’s services are free, they identified that a large barrier to accessing healthcare was transport. Lincoln Rotary Club President Paige Sullivan has been involved as a Trustee of 298 Youth Health for several years and identified an opportunity for Rotary to get involved in a worthy cause.
Her project began with a simple plan, to raise some money and buy a car for 298. She decided to set her sights a little higher and aim to bring together every single Rotary Club in the greater Christchurch area. Then, she set them a little higher and aimed to get a late model, low km car. An inclusive model was established where every club could join in and have their name on the car equally, regardless of their dollar contribution. This meant that even our smallest clubs could get involved, and it worked!
One year later, a visit to every club was completed and $31,000 cash was raised from 19 Rotary Clubs, a District Grant, the Hugo Trust, and two individual donations. The project received incredible sponsorship from Cockram MG and Signbiz. Special mention to SignBiz for donating a sponsored vinyl wrapping job worth $10,000.
In late August, a brand new 2022 model MG car was handed over to 298 that is vinyl wrapped with the names of all 19 Rotary Clubs and our sponsors. We hosted a reveal event with over 30 Rotarians attending, followed by tours of 298. For an organisation who never dreamed they would own their own car, to own a brand new one is super exciting and will make a huge difference to the lives of young people accessing 298.
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