PRESS RELEASE – Embargoed until Wednesday 18 December 2019

Eastern Bay Community Foundation accepts donations for the medium to long-term needs of the victims of the Whakaari/White Island tragedy

From Wednesday 18 December Eastern Bay Community Foundation is accepting donations for the NZ-based victims of the Whakaari/White Island tragedy.

Foundation Chair, Doug Bull, says that it’s important to provide a mechanism for people to show their longer-term support for victims.

“We know that there will be long-term needs, including rehabilitation and trauma-counselling of NZ- based victims and support workers, and we will safeguard these funds for where the greatest needs are in the future. In the meantime, other agencies, such as Victim Support and the Red Cross, are undertaking their essential work on the ground, and we urge people to continue to also donate for immediate needs,” Mr Bull said.

Decisions on how donations to the Eastern Bay Community Foundation Whakaari Fund will be used will be made in collaboration with affected groups and victims and will be focused on medium to long-term support.

Donations to the Whakaari Fund can be made in three ways:

- By visiting any Kiwibank branch and making a deposit to Eastern Bay Community Foundation – Whakaari / White Island Fund
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- Making a payment via internet banking by searching EBC Foundation - White Island Whakaari Fund
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- By emailing Eastern Bay Community Foundation directly - admin@easternbaycommunityfoundation.nz
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Receipts:

If donors would like a tax-deductible receipt for tax purposes they can email or post their bank receipt with their name, address, postal code and phone number to:

Email: admin@easternbaycommunityfoundation.nz, subject ‘Whakaari Fund’
By post to: Whakaari Fund, Eastern Bay Community Foundation, PO Box 435, Whakatane 3159

Eastern Bay Community Foundation is part of a network of Community Foundations from around NZ, which enables generous people to affect change in their local community and to support community needs. Their sister foundation, The Christchurch Foundation, is a leader in the medium to long-term philanthropic response in Christchurch in the wake of the Christchurch Mosque attacks in March 2019.

See more about Community Foundations at www.communityfoundations.org.nz

For further details about Eastern Bay Community Foundation go to: www.easternbaycommunityfoundation.nz

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