LATEST NEWS

“When we were talking about it last year, I thought it would be ages away. I canʹt believe itʹs happening already,” says Dr Bronwyn Graham expressing her excitement at the beginning of the Diamond Harbour Medical Centre upgrade project.

If you have been down to the Community Hall area lately you would have seen the unmistakable evidence that our project has begun! After a lengthy period of hard work, particularly by the fundraising committee and fundraisers within the community, the groundwork excavation for the first stage of the project is finished (thanks Ground Tech Excavations!)

Following a robust tendering process, the contract was awarded to Chalfont Limited to build the new wing. The signing was celebrated on Friday the 19th of April. Gay Pavelka (Group Chair) says, “I am filled with gratitude to the committee for getting us to this happy point. I thank Bruce Glennie for the careful work getting contractors committed and acting for the communityʹs benefit. We look forward to working with Scott and his team.”

The construction area is fenced safely to protect everyone and the trees, though access to the Medical Centre continues and it remains open for business.

One of the project aims is for minimal disruption to the essential and wonderful work of our Medical Centre team. For safety reasons, some windows in Dr Graham’s consulting room have had to be temporarily boarded up, removing the natural light.

However, she notes that this is a small price to pay for the long-term improvements to the Centre which will make their work more efficient and the surroundings more pleasant.

Nurse Nicky Palmer noted that, “The patients are also looking forward to it, when we were re-arranging people yesterday because of our space limitations, they said, You won’t be needing to do this for much longer! Everyone is excited about the improvements.”

Clearly, the project is underway...but fundraising needs to continue. Please continue to support our next event, The Car Boot Sale on May 26, and other events that will help brighten up the winter months.

Everyone is welcome at the Group’s AGM on June 8 at 2pm in the Green Room.

Nicola Green

As well as fundraising in the last month we have been busy on project preparation which is more involved when working on council land. More news on that next month.

The community has been at it again. Terrific fundraising that is, and we highlight the following. While Sail GP was on, Jenny Malcolm and team sold raffle tickets woth $2,060. To all those people who donated to the raffle trolley at Four Square, including Two Thumb Brewery, and the raffle ticket sellers, who infiltrated the visitor areas, the committee sends a big thank you!

Tickets for the Paella cooking master-class to take place at Orton Bradley Park on April 6 quickly sold out. Those attending are in for a great day learning from Edrick Corban-Banks, with good food supplemented by Two Thumb sponsored beer and wine plus some food sponsorship from Ben Dutton of Baileys.

Following the success of the March car boot sale, a car boot sale will be held for the Health centre Project at 9am on May 26th. Nearer the time, Lisa will be letting everyone know when and how to book. A big July event is planned, so good entertainment is ahead in the middle of winter.

Our goal is now to raise approximately $30,000 (reduced from $50,000 in November 2023). Should you know someone who might donate please give them these payment methods.

www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/our-community-providing-a-foundation

Internet Banking: Diamond Harbour & Districts Health

Support Group account no: 03 0866 0339064 001

Gay Pavelka

After much hard work by our fundraising team, we are now in a position to start the new extension to the Medical Centre as the first phase of the overall project. This will be followed by alterations to the existing building as the second phase, and then the new carpark area plus landscaping as the third and final phase.

The two large gum trees that sat in the new extension footprint have now been expertly removed to ground level by Treekind’s arborists. Endeavours to sell the large logs for firewood were to no avail. Then Wayne McClunie kindly offered to mill the logs on site into garden sleepers at no cost with his portable timber mill. What a great job Wayne did for us.

The sales of the sleepers and firewood timber that Wayne purchased from us have brought in well over $5000 for our building extension fund. Wayne has also cleared the site area ready for the excavation contractor to commence work, for which we are very grateful.

We have received quotes for excavation work and these are currently being considered by our committee, and a contract will be awarded, with work expected to commence on site in mid-March.

Quotes have also been sought from three local builders for the new building extension work, and we expect to award a contract by mid-March so that building work can commence immediately on completion of the excavation and retaining wall work.

Due to Health and Safety requirements, the work site will be fenced and off limits to all visitors and volunteers, unless they have been inducted into the Health and Safety requirements of the building site by the builder, who is responsible for maintaining safety on the site.

Anyone wanting to volunteer their time and expertise can contact Bruce Glennie at 027 2724 941 or bgbc@xtra.co.nz, noting their area of expertise, to be included in a list, so they can be contacted when required.

Many local tradespeople have very kindly offered their services and expertise. They will be coordinated with the builder to carry out their specialist work, such as plumbing and drainage, electrical work, heating and ventilation, phones and data, painting, handrails, and plasterboard stopping.

All successful contracts are the result of team work, and we are very grateful to these specialist contractors for their offers to assist.

Our fundraising activities continue, as we still require over $40,000 to fully complete the three stages of the project, to provide the medical staff and the community with a fit for purpose Medical Centre.

Thank you to all those in our community who have donated to date, and to those people who are considering donating, your donations will help provide a key community facility that provides essential health services, and also allows many in our community to be able to continue to live here.

As we are a registered charity your donations will provide you with a tax credit of 33% of the amount. Please ensure that we receive your name and contact details when you donate, so that we can issue a receipt for tax purposes.

To donate please contact our Chair, Gay Pavelka on 027 221 1128, or make an internet banking donation.

Our account name is: Diamond Harbour & Districts

Health Support Group, the account number is: 03 0866 0339064 001. Please put your name in the reference field.

Thank you in anticipation

Bruce Glennie

Remember the December winds? Our plans to be further ahead with the two trees coming down, ready for earthworks, were partly delayed by badly timed strong winds, the number of weekend public events near the Health Centre in December/January, plus the need to continue delivering health services.

On December 31 our project info table next to the Four Square was whipped away by wind in the first half hour.

Since achieving 93% of our goal we have sufficient funds to carry out earthworks, build the new wing and start on the old wing upgrade. At this stage we still need to fundraise approximately $47,000 so if you know anyone planning to donate please do encourage them. We will be lucky to get even small grants of support this year.

To assist site clearance, the existing shed has been temporarily shifted on site and thanks to those whose manpower made this possible. The highly skilled removal of two trees will be completed by February with Treekind’s impressive arborist skills.

Removal of logs is being organised. Bruce Glennie, our project manager, reports that earthwork quotes will be in soon so we hope to see earthwork activity in February. This is also a period when quotes for the new wing build will be assessed and Bruce will give further building details in the March Herald.

The Health Centre staff are organising to work with building disruption ahead and have plans to ensure that you can safely access the building, even if assistance is needed.

This is not 1991, when that wonderful community effort put up the structure. Our insurance company requires professionals working on site to have required insurance and show their workplace claim history.

In-kind work offers remain helpful and thanks so much to those who have made them so far. We are setting up a contact system so if you have made an offer we can keep you up to speed with the project timetable from February onwards.

Our treasurer, Kevin Mackay, reports that December and January donations through Givealittle, plus $20 payments and a family donation of $2,500 are all much appreciated.

Thanks to all pledge givers too, as payments are all in promptly and total $34,000.

The committee was particularly cheered by the Kindy “Wheelathon” where these keen young athletes raised $635 for the project! The community’s continued project support is stunning. Thank you.

Your queries and ideas are welcome.

Phone Gay Pavelka on 027 221 1128.

To make an Internet Banking donation:

Account Name: Diamond Harbour & Districts Health Support Group

Account No: 03 0866 0339064 001

Gay Pavelka

Following a further generous grant of $50,000 from Christchurch City Council, we’re set to go with the new build and renovation of the Health Centre. You should see work starting before Christmas.

This caps a tremendous 12 months of fundraising which has seen a string of very successful local events, many generous personal donations and a terrific response from the Council, trusts and foundations.

We have had a lot of good luck which a few people have made the most of, burning the midnight oil. A while back, we divided the project into two phases. The first to extend the buildings, adding rooms and facilities. We decided that if we had enough funds to cover that, we would get underway. We now do, so that’s starting. You may see the first work on the site before Christmas but definitely early in the New Year.

That’s the main project and our plan is to be in the buildings by the end of October 2024 and hopefully before. The second phase is to bring the existing buildings up to modern standards. They were built by local volunteers 30 years ago and they’ve served us really well; but they now need renovation and upgrading for a modern medical practice.

We should have funds left over from the building phase to cover some of that but we will need more.

DH Health Support Group - Ready to go!

So while the first phase gets underway, we’ll still be fundraising for the renovation work. That’s probably another $50,000.

Still a lot, but with fundraising plans and more grant applications, we think we can do it.

The plan is that the renovation work, which completes the project as a whole, will take a further 3 months once the first phase is finished; so that could be before the end of 2024.

A health warning: this is all based on plans and estimates. Anyone who’s been involved in a building project will know that, however carefully prepared, things can change. We’ve all seen the explosion in building costs over the last couple of years.

We’re grateful to Bruce Glennie, well known to many, a committee member and a QS with long experience of building projects, who has done a lot of work keeping a detailed and costed plan up to date. Bruce will manage the project. As things proceed, we’ll report back on progress and keep you full informed.

Very good news. We hope you’re pleased!

Any comments or questions, or offers of donations, please contact our Chair, Gay Pavelka, at:

gaypavelka.nz@gmail.com.

Glen Saunders

Gratitude, thanks and happiness have been the committee’s exclusive experience this past month. The HUGO Charitable Trust based in Arrowtown and with no connection to our district, have generously donated $80,000 to our building project. We will be pleased to name the new Nurses Room after the HUGO Charitable Trust, our biggest donor.

The project goal became that much nearer with several other recent large donations from local charities and we thank the Maurice Carter Trust for $50,000 ($20,000 of which we receive in one year) and the Mauger Charitable Trust for $25,000. The high level of the community’s volunteer contributions plus the quality of our project information drew the attention of these donor charities.

The Wedding Dress Exhibition was our most recent example of massive, skillful, voluntary work that raised $3096 with the support of the Diamond Harbour Community Church. There are barely enough words to describe how grateful the committee is for this support.

You will have seen our thermometer raised to 80% and with the council having approved $10,000 towards sustainable improvements to the 1991 building plus very recent donations we are raising it to 83%.

A further grant this year exists but is not certain. Both a 50 cent donation left at the Medical Centre and $15,000 from Philippa Drayton-Nieman both show how valued the centre is. That we have reached this position of near to starting the build is an achievement the community can be proud of and a more definitive position should be available to you in a month’s time.

Those intending to contribute – and by doing so soon – will take us from we can do the build to we are underway. You are crucial to our cause.

We ended our fundraising events for the year with a BBQ at Orton Bradley Spring Fair with support from Ben Dutton of Baileys raising just over $944. On behalf of our hard-working and highly motivated committee I want to thank all those who have contributed their time, money and ideas to our fundraising events this year. You have made a difference.

Are you a wordsmith? Can you volunteer several hours a month to supporting the committee with managing communication as the building gets underway early next year? Please contact us.

Hello everyone!

Terrific support to our health project has come in!

Your support to the Diamond Harbour Health Support Group and building upgrade is making a difference. We have in the last two weeks been buoyed by impressive support from the Maurice Carter Foundation, $50,000 and the HUGO Foundation $80,000. That brings us to 80% plus on the thermometer and our goal of $600,000 GST exclusive. More information will come to you later this month.

Particularly we have been so well supported by grants because funding bodies have been impressed by the local commitment to the project and the soundness of our project information.

Should you know anyone holding off but intending to donate please tell them now is an excellent time to take action.

Westpac 03-0866-0339064-001

Diamond Harbour & Districts Health Support Group Inc.

The Wedding Dresses & Memorabilia Exhibition is impressive and  boosting our project this weekend.  This is the last day to attend, running from 12 - 4 pm today (Sunday). Very well worth a visit and a great further funding opportunity towards the Diamond Harbour Medical Centre upgrade & extension. View images from the event below.

With thanks for all your support.

Gay

On behalf of the DH&DHSG 

September has been a busier month than originally anticipated with some good news on various fronts!

We have had the success of the first Brekkie & Brews Rugby World Cup Fundraiser in early September that raised just over $1,375! 

While this event came about at relatively short notice, it was well attended and it would not have been possible without the generous sponsor support of Benjamin Dutton from Bayleys who generously donated all the food for everyone to enjoy, Paul and Lou Dennis and the Diamond Harbour Rugby Club for the superb venue, and Sandy Galland from Simply Nourished along with Carol, Jann, the fundraising sub committee and helpers for bringing all the food service together. 

Early this month (6th, 7th and 8th October) is the Wedding Dresses & Memorabilia event. This is another great event that has come about by the generous offer to use this amazing wedding dress collection as another fundraising opportunity towards our fundraising objective. Thank you so much Robyn, Ruth and Elena for providing the opportunity for people to experience this one of a kind collection!

Towards the end of September we welcomed a very positive outcome from one of the different grant applications we have applied for. We are very proud to announce a $50,000 grant extended recently to us by the Maurice Carter Trust - with $30,000 to be paid now and $20,000 to be paid in the coming year. This will go a very long way to making the project that much closer to becoming a reality. We cannot thank them enough or explain just how delighted we are to graciously accept this. 

We also want to acknowledge those that have made recent donations. From those that have requested a donation to be made when selling an item within the community, to those that have generously requested a donation to be made in their loved one’s bereavement / wishes. This is such a great way to honour a loved one's contribution and legacy to the community.

Every step, offer of help or contribution being made is propelling the whole project so much closer to becoming a reality. Momentum is building and we are making good progress towards the project goal that has been set. 

We still have further to go. With this in mind we welcome the opportunity to those that may be able to offer assistance with their trade skills and time towards the project as this part of the project draws near. If you have a particular trade background that you could put towards supporting the project we would be most grateful. The medical centre upgrade and development is being prepared with no government health funding available and relies heavily on grant applications, donations and pledges to make this all become a reality. Something our awesome and supportive community is showing us is entirely possible!

Ash Murphy - Committee Member

While the result of the game had a lot left to be desired, we are immensely thankful for the community's support for the recent Rugby World Cup opening fundraiser event. We hope you enjoyed the beautifully cooked meal and ability to connect at the Diamond Harbour Rugby Club for a great social event and a worthy fundraising cause!

While there were many people involved, which we are immensely grateful to each and every one of you, we wanted to mention some key people that helped pull this event together at such short notice. Without their support it simply woudn't have happened!

Benjamin Dutton - Bayleys Canterbury for the very generous sponsorship and contribution of the food for everyone to enjoy.

Paul and Lou Dennis and the Diamond Harbour Rugby Club for providing an amazing venue and facility. We are grateful for your continued help and support!

Sandy, Jann and the fundraising sub committee (and helpers) for helping bring it all together at such very short notice to create a very successful outcome.

With the success of this event (we hope) to offer a further follow up event of a similar nature depending of course on timings & availability.

This Saturday we had a small working bee at the health centre, shifting some plants to a safe position during this dormant period and safe from future site works.

We now need just under $77,000 to complete site works and build the new wing that we will all enjoy. Stage 2 then follows. We hope for successful results from our grant applications and if you are planning to donate we will be grateful for your support.

As we head into August, we are feeling very encouraged by the continued progress towards the development of your community’s new health centre!

At the time of writing we have now passed the 60% milestone of the total project funds required. As a group, we are absolutely thrilled with this result off the back of a busy & very successful event schedule that has been supported by some very generous sponsors & supporters. From the start of this month you will start to see the very first signs of progress on the site, with the shifting of plants to another nearby location for the ‘soon to be developed’ new wing and associated ramp. This will then be followed by the removal of two gum trees, along with further site preparation in due course.

With less than $80,000 remaining to go for phase one (for the new wing and ramp) and no shortage of grant applications actively being pursued, our group is also looking toward future fundraising events on the horizon. Keep informed via our newly developed website at www.diamondharbourhealthsupport.org.nz. Our website is the perfect place to view the latest news updates, upcoming events, along with plenty of information about the project and

its history.

We also are very proud to share a 3D video animation / tour of your new medical centre which can be viewed on our new website & will be placed in the waiting area of the medical centre soon. This has been prepared with a great level of detail and care from our committee member & minute secretary Andrew. Thank you so much Andrew for all the time you have put into this, it has been very well received so far. It is at this point in time that the vision is really starting to become reality, and while we can feel immensely encouraged by this progress, we are under no illusion that there is still some way to go!

Our group is also on the lookout for a new secretary as we enter this exciting next phase. Would you be keen to offer your support for this key function of our group? If so, please do not hesitate to get in touch to learn more about how you can get involved.

We are always open to offers, suggestions and ideas along the way. If you would like to get in touch with us you can email info@diamondharbourhealthsupport.org.nz or contact Gay Pavelka on 027 221 11128.

Every single donation or offer of generous assistance, no matter the size or scale, has all positively contributed towards your new health centre. This facility will be something that we as a wider community can be immensely proud of.

Ash Murphy - Committee Member

Hello members

We need several people to help shift some plants to another area on the health site. This is preparation for when the ramp and new wing are built as expected later this year. We expect up to one hour of your time is needed at most. If you can help, bring a spade and be part of our first practical action to prepare for the future health centre.

With thanks

Gay

027 2211128

You are part of a supportive, generous group that has helped our building fund success so far in several ways, including providing raffles. Please know that you have made a difference and your contribution is much appreciated.

Summarised below are the results of your support and our fundraising events so far this year.

• 4 Square Raffle $2,896

• Long Lunch $7,788

• Dog toy making session $190

• Harp and choir evening $2,278

At the time of writing we are at 60% of the total needed for the project of $669,720 GST inclusive

 Stage 1 - $80,000 off our target for the ground work and new build of $409,559

 Stage 2 - our target then becomes $160,161 to complete the old building upgrade

A busy period of grant applications to charitable fund sources is underway. We are hopeful of promising action this year and wish to recognise how much you have helped. Our thanks to you.

Gay Pavelka 

on behalf of the Diamond Harbour & Districts Health Support Group

This Saturday 1st July the The Garage Sale in Lyttelton will again be donating the day's profits to the Diamond Harbour & Districts Health Centre project.

How about seeing what this well stocked op shop can offer you as a great way to support the health centre upgrade and extension.

Open from 10am at 54 Oxford Street

This is AGM month for the DH Health Support Group committee so a good time to reflect on the past year and what lies ahead. If you can spare an hour of your time on Saturday, June 17 at 2 pm and come to the Green Room, we would appreciate the support.

Hear about the building project successes so far, the frustrating bits, the surprises and the build steps ahead. View the design. A start to the site works and the new wing is within sight. Can you participate as a valued secretary for the year ahead?

Transparency and extra due diligence have been at the front of our minds as your donations, pledges, and now grants come in and the project’s financial management becomes more complex. To this end we have extended financial management to three layers.

Our treasurer, Kevin MacKay, is managing the bookkeeping and working with local retired chartered accountant Glen Saunders, who provides financial advice.

We have become a client of Community Capacity Accounting, also a charity, who are supportive of not-for-profit groups and who use accounting systems designed to meet the Charities Commission requirements. We are pleased with the results of their ‘6-point account’ check they have completed for our end of year accounts that we can submit to the Charities Commission.

Hear more about this at the AGM or view it (soon) on our new website created by Harbour Creative. We sit at 54.3% of the $600,000 goal and by late June will certainly be over 60%. We had fun. 52 supporters and a great volunteer team enjoyed the ‘Long Lunch’ at Orton Bradley barn.
Lunch, the auction and sales table gave the project came to just over $7700 – a big boost. Some of us can now make safe dog toys after Els Desart donated her time and knowledge to an enjoyable dog toy making fundraiser.

A glass of wine, beautiful music and slides, a perfect winter evening and the chance of winning a raffle or two lies ahead. The evening of June 17 at the Rugby Club (thanks to the support of the Rugby Club), a fundraising evening with harpist and photographer Thomas Loefke will take us to north Atlantic islands, with our local choir contributing. Please join us. Sites to visit:

diamondharbourhealthsupport.org.nz , givealittle.co.nz and Facebook (Diamond Harbour & Districts Health Support Group).

Enquiries Andrew a.may@xtra.co.nz or Gay 027 221 1128.

​Sunday in Diamond Harbour saw a group of keen dog owners making dog toys and enjoying themselves. 

🐶 🐕 🐩

Many thanks to Els Desart for teaching us how to make safe dog toys with items we might throw out..

​

Thank you Els for this fun fundraiser for the health centre project. ❤️ 

Do you have guests joining you for Sail GP this coming weekend?

We invite you to ask them to CARE and make a small donation to help upgrade the Medical Centre. Download this poster, place it out with a collection box and then pledge the money to the cause.

Make a donation here. 

The professionals at the heart of our community healthcare. The building that is the home to the Diamond Harbour Medical Centre has people at its heart. While you may be familiar with the medical centre as the place where people see healthcare and support staff in-person, for these professionals it is their place of work.

It is where they send, receive and communicate information, conduct telephone consults, store medical supplies and connect with colleagues. The Diamond Harbour and Districts Health Support Group’s project to upgrade the medical centre will improve the space,storage and ease of use that will enable the staff to do their work in an environment that better supports them.

It is common knowledge that there are healthcare professional shortages across all areas of healthcare, particularly in primary care general practice. A good working environment will help to keep and attract professionals to keep healthcare services close to home.

Beyond providing a range of primary care services, the staff at the medical centre are also the District Nursing team for the area which is based out of the medical centre. This is a crucial connection between hospital-based health services and community-based services for people who require nursing care at home and includes post-operative care, wound care, and care of the terminally ill.

This service is available to people in the area regardless of who their general practitioner is. This means that even if you are not an enrolled patient at the Diamond Harbour Medical centre there may be a time that you will benefitfrom their services. Upgrading the medical centre building will improve its function as a hub for district nursing and telehealth services into the future.

With some impressive support from the community so far, we are close to 55% of our fundraising target and optimistic about reaching our goals. We would love to have more local businesses show their support for our healthcare workers, please consider pledging or donating and look out for the fundraising events being held in the next few months.

We are aware of the responsibility that comes with such a large project and have recently commissioned a full financial audit and have support of professional accountants. Our group’s AGM will be on Saturday, June 17 at 2pm in the Green Room and all community members are invited to show their support.

Make March Matter - Yes you did! To the tune of $19,000.

Last month we kicked off the CARE campaign asking you to consider making a donation to support the upgrade of the Diamond Harbour Medical Centre to make it fit for purpose. Many of you did and the total (and donations are still coming in) currently stands at $19,000.

THANK YOU!

These kind donations and pledges have lifted our fundraising total to near 55% of the total goal. The focus now for the Diamond Harbour and Districts Health Support Group is the application of grants and funds from a variety of foundations and other funders. This is a time-consuming exercise and we hope that in the coming months we can report back some positive wins.

The upgrade of the health facility; to provide the space and functionality required to support modern health services for our community; will be done in two stages. The first stage will start this year, once we reach the first financial target of $160,000.

The consent for this work is granted and involves building the new wing and includes the work that will form the second stage of the project. Stage 2 will see a refurbishment and rejig of the interior of the current building to tie the two together seamlessly.

CARE to Lunch?

To help boost the bottom line, there are a few great initiatives planned: On Sunday April 30 (mark the date now!) there will be a Long Lunch at Orton Bradley Café. All time is donated and 100% of the profits go direct to the fund. The three course lunch will include an auction and if you can help with the donation of any quality items (or know someone who can) please contact us on the mobile number below.

In addition to the auction at the lunch – we will take a number of desirable items and have them available to everyone via an online auction that will finish on the day of the lunch.

Whisper has it that this already includes a trailer load of firewood valued at $400. If you can assist with the auction – text “auction” to 027 479 3205 and we will be in touch. If you CARE to come to the three course long lunch – text ‘Long Lunch’ and email address to 027 479 3205 and we will send you an invitation when they become available.

In May, our local dog expert, Els Desart will be running a dog toy making session which is all about enriching the lives of your canine family members. This will be a fun, family focused event – more to come.

Our district is rich in history and you can own your own collection of digital books celebrating and sharing the stories that make our slice of paradise what it is today.

Information on these books is available at the Diamond Harbour Library and on our Facebook page.

Do you use Facebook? Yes, then please go follow our group as this is the very best place to get updates on events, progress and ways in which you can help.

Do you have guests joining you for Sail GP this coming weekend?

We invite you to ask them to CARE and make a small donation to help upgrade the Medical Centre. Download this poster, place it out with a collection box and then pledge the money to the cause.

Make a donation here. 

Thanks for all the CARE - look what we have achieved so far!

We have passed the 50% mark in our fundraising efforts. Not too much more to go until we can start Phase 1 of the upgrade which is so exciting for us - this is the addition part the building.

Can you help us get there?

Every donation helps us secure a fit-for-purpose medical centre for now and into the coming years.

Make a donation here.