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Last modified: 22 May 2023 4:33pm

A line of hot air balloons, some lit upThere was a glow of generosity coming from visitors to the Hororātā Glow Festival last week.

Bidders at a silent auction donated over $7000 to help Gisborne Tairawhiti with its recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle. Items were put up for auction by 17 businesses and the Council. Popular items included Mayor Sam Broughton mowing lawns and a holiday package with accommodation and mountain biking or trekking at Quartz Hill.

In total the fundraiser raised $7275 for the Gisborne Mayoral Relief Fund. The Selwyn community has adopted Gisborne as a community through the Local Government New Zealand ‘Adopt a Community’ programme. The Giving for Gisborne fundraising campaign has now raised over $12,000, with donors giving directly to the Gisborne Mayoral Relief Fund to support immediate and long-term needs identified by the community.

The ongoing generosity of people in Selwyn is really uplifting, Mayor Sam says. “We’re very grateful to the Hororātā Glow Festival for letting us run the auction and for all the generous businesses who donated prises to auction, it was an amazing evening. I’ve spoken with Mayor Rehette Stoltz and she has offered her sincere thanks to everyone who has got behind Gisborne and she said how encouraging the support is for everyone effected by the cyclone.”

Tairawhiti Gisborne experienced heavy damage from the cyclone, with a long journey ahead to restore roads, bridges, power, and water infrastructure and to help displaced residents back into their homes.

Other fundraisers have included a donation drive at Selwyn Sounds, a fire brigade truck pull, and Selwyn schools pairing up with their counterparts in Gisborne.