Baskets of Blessing

By TRACEY ROXBURGH It got off to a good starch, but a couple of people made a right hash of Arrowtown’s seventh annual Spud Comp. Last Saturday afternoon saw the judging of the hotly-contested event, hosted annually by The Fork and...

By TRACEY ROXBURGH It took peer support and turned it on its head. In the wake of Covid-19, Queenstown Primary School team leader Julie Walker thought it might be beneficial to teach almost 150 of her Year 3 and 4 charges...

By TRACEY ROXBURGH In just over six months more than $1 million has been raised for the Wakatipu Greatest Needs Fund. Established by Queenstown’s fundraising queen Kaye Parker during Alert Level 4 lockdown to provide financial support to front-line charities in...

By PHILIP CHANDLER Two portraits of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern are among artworks up for auction at a Southland Labour Party fundraiser at Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall on Friday. Organiser Amanda Robinson, who confirms the PM’s been invited, says the ‘Paint The...

By MATTHEW MCKEW Nothing's normal this year and even the annual Year 10 Work Day’s been through a change, but perhaps for the better, the organiser says. For well over 50 years, Wakatipu High students in Queenstown have gone on ‘‘an...

By PHILIP CHANDLER Young Auckland professionals last week raised $6000-plus for a Queenstown charity helping out-of-work locals. Philanthropy organisation 10x10 New Zealand organised a crowdfunding Dragons’ Den-style event in Auckland in which three charities pitched for funding from the audience. One of...

By PHILIP CHANDLER A Queenstown charity that’s dispensed thousands of meals to out-of-work locals is counting its blessings. Baskets of Blessing is one of three charities that will benefit from a crowdfunding event in Auckland next Wednesday run by philanthropy organisation,...

Out-of-town businesses running conferences and events in Queenstown now have a way to meaningfully contribute to the local community. Destination Queenstown, along with its convention bureau, have launched a corporate social responsibility programme called ‘Community Connection’. It introduces 16 established not-for-profits and trusts...

By TRACEY ROXBURGH An Arrowtown charity's run off its feet right now - but the Wakatipu community's swung in behind to support it. This month a 20-foot storage container, courtesy of AJ Saville Builders, was dropped off on the St John's...

By PHILIP CHANDLER With no tourists to cook for, Real Journeys Walter Peak and Canyon Brewing chefs are cooking up a storm for Queenstowners affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Using Canyon Brewing's kitchen, they've cooked almost 1800 meals for local charity, Baskets...

By PHILIP CHANDLER Former local mayor Vanessa van Uden's been among more than 100 volunteers responding to Queenstown's biggest humanitarian crisis. She's part of City Hall's emergency operations centre response team, formed after the Covid-19 lockdown started late March. Every Tuesday and...

By PHILIP CHANDLER Thanks to a Queenstowner's initiative, Otago and Southland Covid-19 lockdown heroes have been rewarded with free accommodation, activities, attractions and meals shouted by Southern operators. John Cushen set up Southern Heroes NZ after being moved by the story of...