The social service, run by the Sustainability Trust, provides free, custom made, quality, lined curtains to people with a Community Services Card who need a hand warming up their homes.

Healthy Homes Assessor, David Peace knows all about the importance of lined curtains:

“Lined curtains are essential to keeping homes warm. Together with draft stoppers and insulation, properly fitted, lined curtains can prevent up to 60 per cent heat loss”

Last year, two staff and 23 volunteers at the Curtain Bank provided 2462 sets of curtains to 604 households across the lower North Island. These curtains help individuals and families to reduce their power bills while also increasing comfort in the home and improving their health.

One family who received curtains last year had this to say:

“Curtains make a huge difference to how warm you can keep your flat in winter. Since the landlord put insulation in the ceiling and installed a heat pump, and now that we have good curtains, my daughter's asthma has gone away. I'm very grateful for the beautiful, thick curtains I received and want to let people know that they have helped improve my own life as well as my two kids'. Thanks heaps!!”

In addition to warming up homes, the curtains are made from donations of pre-loved curtains and fabrics, from individuals and businesses, so the service also reduces textile waste going to landfill.

Wellington Curtain Bank is proudly supported by Genesis Energy, Wellington Community Trust, the Lottery Grants Board and Nikau Foundation.

For more information on the Curtain Bank head to: https://sustaintrust.org.nz/pages/curtains OR free phone 0508 78 78 24 ext 705.

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