City Mission to benefit from charity fundraisers

Media release

6.7.2010

City Mission to benefit from mid-winter charity fundraising events

A desperate shortage of food supplies at the charitable Auckland City Mission has inspired an group of Auckland bars and restaurants to hold a week-long fund-raising campaign for the city’s less fortunate.

The city’s five Belgian Beer Cafes - De Fontein in Mission Bay, De Post in Mt Eden, The Ponsonby in Ponsonby, Blankenberge in Takapuna. and The Occidental in the central city – have organised a week of mid-winter fundraising to help raise money and boost supplies at Auckland City Mission’s soup kitchen and food bank.

Four of the venues belong to national hospitality chain Frenzi Group with Blankenberge owned by Kevin Schwass. Frenzi Group director Brian Collins said the charitable gesture came about after managers at his venues learnt about the food shortage Auckland City Mission was experiencing, and decided to take affirmative action to help.

“Being situated amidst some of Auckland’s more affluent suburbs, it’s sometimes easy for us and our local patrons to forget that there are less fortunate people in the city. People for whom the winter means hardship, and sometimes having to go hungry,” said Brian Collins.

“It may seem ironic that a bar and restaurant chain is organising an event for those who have little or no food, but the staff at all of our Belgian Beer Cafes thought that by bringing Auckland City Mission’s dire need out into the open, we could inspire regulars to help those in the city whose plight is often forgotten.

“The people helped by the great work Auckland City Mission does, come from a variety of backgrounds – but at the end of the day they are fellow Aucklanders who need some support to get them through a cold and bleak winter.”

The mid-winter charity fundraising initiative at De Fontein, De Post, The Ponsonby, Blankenberge and The Occidental will begin on July 16 and will culminate with a mid-winter Christmas Charity dinner on July 22. Throughout that entire week, the bars will donate $1 from each of the thousands of main courses sold to Auckland City Mission, while on the final night the venues will add an additional five per cent of all revenues to the donation tally.

Mr Collins said that as well as raising money for Auckland City Mission, each of the bars would establish ‘food drop’ facilities within the premises where patrons could donate non-perishable food products such as rice, pasta and tinned goods. Donation boxes would also be hosted on the bar service areas.

“In addition, each of the bar managers is also approaching neighbouring business around their locations to bring their staff and customers to the Christmas Charity Dinner on July 22 as well as looking at what other fundraising activities we could host during the week or how they could assist in other initiatives – such as the charity auctions,” Mr Collins said.

Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson said the organisation’s stocks were particularly low this winter as everyone recovers from the effects of the general economic recession.

Ms Robertson said that compounding this was the traditional winter demand for food and warm clothing, and that Auckland City Mission was grateful for Frenzi Group’s generous offer of help.

She said that it was particularly gratifying that with all the pressures Auckland businesses were under, that the local bar and restaurant group had started this initiative to assist their fellow Aucklanders in need.

ends