Mayor Nadine Taylor is asking Marlborough locals to dig deep to help Gisborne and Napier to get back on their feet.

“We’ve all seen the devastation up north and want to help in a meaningful way.”

“The ‘Adopt a Community’ initiative matches Marlborough with two communities that have been badly hit by the cyclone.”

“Napier and Gisborne are sister districts to Marlborough - we share wine and horticultural industries and many people in Marlborough have connections to them through family or work.”

“This is a way for our council to support two councils that have been hit hard, by raising money for their communities.”

“We know from our own experiences of extreme weather and earthquakes that getting communities back on their feet is a marathon not a sprint. That’s especially true with a disaster of this scale.”

People are encouraged to support Gisborne through a donation to its Mayoral Relief Fund. The bank account number is: Gisborne District Council 03-0638-0502288-00 Reference: Disaster Relief Trust.

The bank account number for donations to Napier City Council is Hawke’s Bay Disaster Relief Trust: 02-0700-0010824-002.

The ‘Adopt a Community’ initiative was set up last week by Local Government New Zealand and matches councils who were unaffected by cyclone Gabrielle with one or more councils that were.

For more information go to www.lgnz.co.nz/news-and-media/2023-media-releases/councils-adopt-cyclone-hit-communities-to-support-their-fundraising/

Mayor Taylor noted there were also many other ways that Marlburians can assist the North Island responses.

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