Picture
​
​Photo: Don with Foundation trustees, from left, Nicki Webster, Mary Ross, and Elizabeth Ashford

​Presentation
Don Church was presented with an award on his retirement from the Foundation’s Investment Committee, this week. Chair, Mary Ross, said Don’s outstanding contribution over 16 years, had helped maximise donor funds. This enabled the Foundation to support more worthy causes in our district.
Thank you Don for your outstanding contribution.

A Fulfilling Way to Give

Locals Bob and Alan Johnston featured recently in a podcast prepared for the Farmer’s Weekly What is your Rural Legacy series. 

New ​Executive Officer

​It is with much pleasure that we introduce our new Executive Officer Victoria (Vicks) Johnson.
 
With her late husband Ben, Vicks has lived and worked the last 18 years in Mayfield on their mixed cropping and dairy grazing farm. Living and working in the district has given her a real appreciation of community and she is looking forward to giving back to the community in her new role with Advance Ashburton.
 
After completing a Bachelor of Commerce Majoring in Management at Canterbury University, Vicks worked in management and financial roles in the UK and Christchurch, giving her relevant business knowledge and experience. After moving to the district, she was a relief teacher at Mt Hutt College before joining her husband on the farm.
 
In her working and personal life Vicks has developed excellent communication and interpersonal skills and says, “My life experiences have given me a great deal of compassion and empathy. I enjoy talking to everyone and anyone!”
 
Vicks is looking forward to meeting the donors, new and existing, who want to make our district even better, and learning more about the unmet needs in our community.
 
Vicks is a devoted grandmother and in her spare time she is developing a wedding and events venue in Tinwald.
Picture
Vicks (middle) with Advance Ashburton Chair Mary Ross (right) and Chair of the Friends of the Foundation, Anne Fleming (left)

2021 Advance Ashburton Scholarship Awards

This years Advance Ashburton scholarship ceremony was held on Tuesday 26 January at the Ashburton Trust Event Centre. This event enabled over 150 attending guests to witness and celebrate both the talent of some of the youth in our District and the power of local generosity. 
The team at the Foundation offered a heartfelt thank you to the donors, "Our Donors are at the heart of what we do. By choosing to donate to Advance Ashburton they are making a gift to the  causes they care about most in a way that will have lasting effects for many generations to come." said Executive Officer, Sandi Wood.
This year there was a total of 32 scholarships awarded across 16 different categories. The total amount distributed was nearly $88,000.

Congratulations to the 2021 Scholarship recipients:

The Neil Sinclair Memorial Scholarship
Mikaeli Lalor

The Advance Ashburton Scholarship
Matthew Clough

The Alister Smyth Scholarship
Ariana Tipu, Aidan Campbell

The Cameron Family Scholarship
Aimee Elliott

The Glass Family Scholarship
Neilvrod Alombro

The Graham Gunn Music Scholarship
Jack Bubb

The Ashburton Hearing Association Scholarship
Jaffar Nuru

The Ian Glassey Memorial Scholarship
Ellen Donaldson, Toby Lee

The Jaycees Development Fund Scholarship
Industry Trade - Debra Thomson, Hamish Begg, Phillip Whiting, Sam Bubb, Samantha Tuck
Personal Development - Kate O'Reilly, Travis Stringer

The Johnston Brothers Scholarship
Caitlin Johnstone, Hannah Wakelin, Kelsey Campbell, Lucy Clough, Rebecca Robinson, Taylor Gallagher

​The Parsons Family Scholarship
Benjamin MacLeod, Kate Donald

The Ashburton Plains Rotary Club Trade Scholarship
Roman Prazak

The Tinwald Club Scholarship
Josh Jones

The United Friendly Society Scholarship
Ainsley Braam-Smith, Diana Barbu, Jemma Donnelly, Scott Kelland

The van der Kley Scholarship
Grace Leahy
​

Our commitment to our community to offer support through Covid-19


We give our heart-felt thanks to those on the front line of this crisis. Our team of staff and volunteers are all safe and well and will be working from home to continue to support our community.
 As this pandemic progresses the need for assistance in our community will be great.  Our commitment to you is that we will continue to reach out to local providers to understand what is happening in our community and where we may be able to assist in the short term and what longer term needs may be identified.
 We thank the generous people who have already made donations to help the people of Mid Canterbury during this crisis. If you would like to talk to Sandi Wood, our Executive Officer about how to help with a donation please contact her on 0275775875.
 
Below we have put together some key questions and answers that you may find useful:

We’ve received a grant but our event/project can no longer go ahead or has to change in some way. Do we have to give the grant back?
We understand that things are changing rapidly for the organisations we fund, for example, events have been cancelled and community needs are changing. If your organisation has received funding from Advance Ashburton and your funded initiative cannot go ahead, we may not necessarily be asking for funds to be returned. Instead we invite you to reconsider how the funding can best be used to serve our community in this new environment, and, when you are ready, please have a conversation with us.​

I’m not able to complete, or, I will have to change my accountability reporting, what should I do?
If you have reporting due and need extra time, or there is a change in circumstances, please contact us via email on grants@advanceashbuton.org.nz to discuss alternative options.  

Will Advance Ashburton be doing anything specific to support our community to cope with the impact of COVID-19? 
Thanks to the donations that have already been received, and through our existing funds we have the capability of offering COVID-19 support to our community, both in the short term and for the longer term. We are also continuing to work collaboratively with other local funders to support the best outcomes for the people of Mid Canterbury.

How to contact Advance Ashburton during the lockdown?
We invite you to contact us to discuss your current grant or to discuss the current needs you are seeing in our community. To be adaptive and flexible with our granting process over the coming months we want to know what the needs are in our community.  We are of course working from home, so please contact us via email. We will do our best to respond as quickly as possible.   While these times are difficult and unprecedented, together we will get through this. 
Kia kaha tātou 
Trevor Croy,
Chairman

January 2020 - Scholarship Awards Ceremony

The Advance Ashburton scholarship ceremony was held on Monday 27th January at the Ashburton Trust Event Centre. This event enabled all the guests to witness and celebrate both the talent of some of the youth in our District and the power of local generosity. 
The team at the Foundation offered a heartfelt thank you to the donors, "these people are at the heart of what we do. Their generosity enables us to deliver benefits to the community that will well surpass our lifetimes. By choosing to donate to Advance Ashburton they have invested in the future of today, of tomorrow and of many generations to come." said Executive Officer, Sandi Wood.
This year saw a total of 37 scholarships awarded across 14 different categories. The total amount distributed was over $87,500.

Congratulations to the 2020 scholarship recipients:
​
The Alister Smyth Scholarships
Lupepe Saofai, Hope Saofai, Benjamin Wakelin and Keagan Bradley

The Glass Family Scholarship
Barbera Forster

Tinwald Club Scholarships
Jackson Winestone and Kaleb Small

Ashburton Plains Rotary Club Scholarship
Greg Cross

Jaycees Industry Trade Scholarship
Katya McCallum, Kieran Bradley, Jack Harrex, Joshua Buchanan, Jayden Sinclair-Thickett
Matthew Forbes, Kerry Claydon-Wade, Max Watson, Katie Danielson

Jaycee Personal Development Scholarship
Barrine Ross

The Parson Family Scholarship
Leilani Lobb and Jack Taggart

The Cameron Family Scholarship
Kirsty Naish

The Ian Glassey Memorial Scholarship
Emma Warmerdam and Sophie Bonnington

The Johnston Brothers Scholarship
Simon Aitken-Wheeler, Artem Kravchenko, Hannah Ward and Abigail Fergus

UFS Scholarship
Katie Ferris, Victoria Sandrey, Annalise Reilly and Connie Davidson

The Ashburton Hearing Association Scholarship
Jaffar Nuru

Advance Ashburton FJ Woods Scholarship
Melissa Maslin and Gemma Duncan

​The Neil Sinclair Memorial Scholarship
Nicholas Thomassen 





August 2019

September is Wills  Month

 We’re excited to once again be partnering with our local law firms to promote “Wills Month’ this September.

Wills month is a fantastic initiative that gives people the opportunity to create a simple Will, or make minor changes to an existing Will, to include a gift to Advance Ashburton Community Foundation, at no cost*.

More and more people are considering how they too can make a difference to our community. By leaving a donation or a percentage of your estate to Advance Ashburton Community Foundation is a wonderful way of creating a lasting legacy that will benefit our region for generations to come. It is the strategic giving, that enables you to give to the causes that matter most to you.

All bequests made to Advance Ashburton Community Foundation are invested in endowment funds forever. Every year a portion of the investment income is retained to ensure that your gift grows in line with inflation. The balance of the income from investments is distributed annually to charitable organisations in our local community.

​Please contact Sandi on 027 577 5875 if you would like to find out more about leaving a gift in your will, or contact one of the participating law firms.

*Offer applies only to the inclusion of a gift to Advance Ashburton Community Foundation. Any other Will changes or additions may be subject to a fee – seek guidance from your lawyer first.

We would like to thank the following law firms for supporting our Wills Month campaign.
  • Argyle Welsh Finnigan
  • Arrowsmith Law
  • RMF Silva
  • Tavendale and Partners
  • White Fox and Jones

July 2019

Wastebusters Trust - Continuing their legacy

PictureWastebusters Trustees present a cheque to Advance Ashburton trustee, Elizabeth Ashford.

​After 25 years the Wastebusters Trust has wound up and in doing so they have made a strategic choice to use their residual funds to set up a trust fund with Advance Ashburton.

​This fund will continue to support projects in the Ashburton District that promote waste minimisation practices and protect and enhance the environment, allowing the legacy of the Wastebusters Trust to continue.

May 2019

Ashburton Hearing Association establish new fund

PicturePhoto Credit: Ashburton Guardian
​The Ashburton Hearing Association has established a new fund with Advance Ashburton.

“The creation of this fund with Advance Ashburton is a very special highlight from my 25-year term as president” says outgoing president Russell Anstiss. “It’s so rewarding knowing that all the hard work in raising this money will now forever benefit our community.”

This dedicated fund will support purposes associated with hearing impairment, such as, scholarships to study audiology, scholarships to hearing-impaired persons who are undertaking study, and assisting with the training and development of teachers to learn and use sign language. 

We welcome David Keeley as a new trustee

Picture
Advance Ashburton are excited to welcome David Keeley as a new trustee to the foundation. 

David is married to Ruth, and has three adult children, Rachel, Jason and Glen, and six grandchildren.  His family operate an 820ha mixed stock and crop farming business, growing a variety of crops in the Hinds and Laghmor districts.  David has governance experience in community organisations, education, co-operative businesses along with his family business.  His main interests, after his family, friends and farming, are travelling, cycling, jet boating, tramping and sea fishing.

"I am very honoured and humbled to be asked to join the Advance Ashburton Community Foundation team, as a trustee.  Their passion for combining the wishes of local generous people, with the needs of our community, is exceptional.  I look forward to working with such a talented team and watching our community go from strength to strength."
March 2018
Scholarships - Do you want to help?
​Although there has been a huge growth in the number and value of grants awarded, this year we received over 100 applications – we had funds for only twenty-nine scholarships.

​To enable us to help more we are now accepting donations for ‘pass through’ scholarships.  So, if you wish to donate funds for a particular scholarship – whether it be an existing category or a new category - the funds won’t be invested, but passed directly through Advance Ashburton for the purpose of a scholarship. 

If you would like more information please contact Sandi Wood, Executive Officer on 027 577 5875.
November 2017
​Annual Celebration

It was great to see so many of you join us at our Annual Celebration of Philanthropy last week to hear our 3 guest speakers share their success stories.  Ross Preece, Principal of Ashburton College, spoke of the positive results that are being observed at the new Kohanga at the College.  Professor Bridget Robinson, Medical Oncologist, gave us an update on their research into Bowel Cancer, part funded by the late Ian Glassey fund.  And Sir Stephen Tindall, founder of The Warehouse and The Tindall Foundation, shared with us some of the projects the Tindall Foundation are currently supporting and also a great insight into his involvement with The America's Cup team.
Breakfast with Sir Stephen Tindall

What a wonderful breakfast we had at our first ever breakfast fundraising event, raising funds for a local leadership scholarship.  We were privileged to be the first event at the new EA Networks Pavilion in the beautiful Trotts Garden, Wedding and Function Venue, and were all inspired by our guest speaker.  Sir Stephen Tindall gave the crowd of 120 his overview of philanthropy in the next generation, his entertaining stories and insights into Team NZ's success and the great importance of The America's Cup being held in NZ.  Thank you to Sir Stephen Tindall and to everyone who attended and supported this event.
September 2017
Picture
Welcome to our new Executive Officer, Sandi Wood

​We are very pleased to introduce Sandi Wood as our new Executive Officer.
​A born and raised Mid Cantabrian, Sandi has a passion for being part of community success. She is looking forward to working to make a positive difference in our community. We hope you will join us in welcoming Sandi to our team.
August 2017
Picture
Farewell to Margaret

​It is with our best wishes that we say farewell to Margaret Rickard who is retiring from Advance Ashburton.  As the first Executive Officer, and employee of our foundation, Margaret has been instrumental in the success and growth of Advance Ashburton over the past seven years.  

During Margaret's time with the foundation, we have grown our combined asset and bequest base from $4.7 million to $35.7 million, and the foundation has distributed over $2.5 million to our community.
​
We wish Margaret and her family well with their future endeavors.
March 2017
Picture
$1.5 million cash injection to Ashburton Hospital

On 28th March 2017, Advance Ashburton trustee Gary Fail presented David Meates, Canterbury DHB Chief Executive, with a cheque for $1.5 million to go towards the upgrades of Ashburton Hospital.

The donation is in conjunction with the Mackenzie Charitable Trust, the Lion Foundation, the Ashburton Licensing Trust and the Trevor Wilson Charitable Trust.  This will go towards the $8.7 million of improvements underway at the hospital, which includes building a new 1040sqm Acute Assessment Unit and Day Procedure Theatre.
 
Mr Meates says it is great to receive such a generous contribution from the community.  “It’s remarkable how supportive and engaged the community has been right from when we first announced the upgrade to the facilities here in Ashburton after the Canterbury quakes.  We are very grateful to have had the people of Ashburton backing us on this journey. Their commitment has meant the best health services, for what has become a very strong and vibrant rural community, are available both now and long into the future.  I’m absolutely delighted on behalf of Canterbury DHB to accept this donation today and would like to say a huge thank you to all those who have contributed to this very generous gift.”

Bernice Marra, Ashburton Health Services manager, says it’s wonderful to receive the donation towards the new facilities, which opened at the end of last year.  “Already the new facilities are proving to be a huge asset for our community. Staff are just loving working in the fit-for-purpose building, and patients and visitors, are also saying how much of an improvement they are.  It allows us to keep pace with health care innovations and means our staff can provide the right care to the right person at the right time, both now and well into the future.”

The new Acute Assessment Unit replaces an older, smaller unit and is designed to allow staff to assess, stabilise and provide short-term care for people with acute conditions.  Greg Robertson, Canterbury DHB Head of Surgery, says the AAU provides “state of the art” facilities allowing specialists from Christchurch to perform day procedures for people in Ashburton in its new theatre and recovery suite.  "The new facilities together with the $450,000 pledged by the generous community funders to establish a rural health academic centre allows Ashburton Hospital to build its status as New Zealand’s first rural centre of medical excellence.  It also allows us to offer a wider range of procedures than at present, and has enabled more efficient transfer of patients to and from Christchurch Hospital.”
April 2016

New Appointments

We are delighted to welcome two new trustees to the Foundation’s Board.

Nicki Webster

Picture
Nicki is a Director and Financial Manager of farming businesses in Dorie, Rakaia and Aylesbury. She is a Justice of the Peace, a trustee of the Rakaia Medical Centre and Dorie Community Trusts, and was the founding Chairperson of the Dorie Community Preschool.  She farms with her husband Peter and they have three adult sons.

Chris Wylie

Picture
Chris, Senior Partner at BNZ, has been a banker since 1988 and in Ashburton since 1994. Previously an Agri banker, he now leads the BNZ team across Ashburton and Timaru. He is the Past Chairman of Ashburton Borough School Board and past Chairman of Christchurch Girls’ High School Rowing. Chris is married to Jacqui and is father of four daughters. He loves cycling, climbing hills and boating in his spare time.