Furniture from Tauranga to Edgecumbe

Tauranga City Councillor Steve Morris, Mayor Greg Brownless and Deputy Mayor Kelvin Clout at The Cargo Shed Photo: Tracy Hardy.

The Cargo Shed has been made available for Rise Up Tauranga to coordinate the collection and delivery of furniture from Tauranga homes to the Edgecumbe community following the recent flooding in the town.

Tauranga City Council and the Otamataha Trust have put their support behind the project, making the Cargo Shed in Dive Crescent temporarily available to store furniture for one month from this Saturday April 29, to the end of May.

'It's a great way for the Tauranga community to show its support for Edgecumbe,” says Deputy Mayor Kelvin Clout. 'And it's a practical way we can help, similar to the Rise Up Tauranga campaign in 2011. I'm fully supportive that we're using this asset temporarily for the community good.”

Led by Bethlehem Te Puna Lions Ian Calvert and Bernie Allen, community organisers and Rise Up Tauranga volunteers Rosalie Crawford and Cr Steve Morris, the group met with BOP Regional Council staff and community volunteers in Edgecumbe on Friday to discuss the practical details.

Whakatane Mayor Tony Bonne linked the team with Claire Pye, general manager of Pou Whakaaro who has made their large storage facility in Bracken St, Whakatane available to store the collected furniture once it arrives from Tauranga. Pou Whakaaro is a Bay of Plenty District Health Board funded service.

The Cargo Shed will have drop off access available 11am – 3pm Monday to Saturday for Tauranga people to deliver for Tauranga people to deliver good quality furniture suitable for bedrooms, lounges, kitchens and dining rooms.

Curtains, carpet, heaters, whiteware and household appliances will also be collected.

Certified electrical safety tagging of electrical appliances will be undertaken. No torn couches, toys or clothing will be accepted.

For those who are unable to drop off furniture, a pick-up from homes will be organised.

There are 560 homes in Edgecumbe, which experienced heavy flooding in early April. Fourteen homes are condemned and 237 are uninhabitable for weeks, maybe months.

Wini Geddes coordinated the Ngati Awa Voluntary Army cleanup in Edgecumbe which saw complete housefuls of furniture disposed of due to flood damage.

Rise Up Tauranga completed a similar project in 2011, when furniture was collected from 150 Tauranga homes and redistributed to Cantabrian earthquake victims relocating to the Western Bay of Plenty.

Once a truckful of furniture is collected at The Cargo Shed, it will be sent to Whakatane and redistributed from Pou Whakaaro through community organisers already involved in the flood affected areas.

For more details, follow www.facebook.com/RiseUpTauranga, email rosalie@topshelfdesign.com or text mobile 022 658 1458.

The Cargo Shed, located at 16 Dive Crescent, Tauranga, will have furniture drop off access available between 11am – 3pm, Monday – Saturday through May, starting this Saturday 29 April.

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