Wednesday 19 June 2013

Smiles All Round

Rotary North Harbour  recently completed a Community Project which commenced in February 2011. It was then that PP David Hutcheson learned  that the 40+ year old toy digger for the local Playcentre sand-pit had been retired as it was no longer safe for play.
David decided to build two replacement diggers, and also a digger for each of the other Playcentres, 22 in all.

There was no workshop, nor a budget in the Club's plans for the year, however Rotarian Alan Astrop of the East Coast Bays Club, Auckland, offered his workshop and his skill, time and machines, a huge advantage for dedicated amateurs.


With premises now arranged David secured all the materials from local businesses by way of sponsorship, hoping this would make for a fully funded project.

Production started on a small scale with just a few Club members offering their time, but soon more than half the Club were involved. After more than 1300 volunteer man hours the Diggers were ready for presentation at a "Big Beach Dig and Fete."The  twenty one Playcentres' representatives, watched by many others, came forward to receive a Digger each from a volunteer member of  Rotary North Harbour.


Members summed up by saying that," this was a great Club Community project which allowed us to commit with Sweat Equity  not cash. This was surely the Four Avenues of Service in action."

When asked his feelings after the presentation, PP David said "when you consider the number of children that have used the old digger over the 40+ years of its life, think of the thousands who will use ours x 22 over the next 40odd  years. "