On Saturday 5 September, the Swanson RSA Memorial Club hosted The Filipino-Kiwi Club of New Zealand Incorporated re-launched their charitable organisation with a Spring Charity Fundraising Dinner.
The club is a non-sectarian, non-profit and non-political organisation, established and maintained exclusively for charitable purposes. That includes running its own projects and offering voluntary services, and getting behind other organisations with like-minded objectives and initiatives that benefit the wider community. In plain terms, it is a group of people who show up for others and bring their culture along with them.
The re-launch marked a fresh start. The evening included the induction of the club’s new officers, a traditional Filipino cultural dance presentation, raffles and a dinner that people are still talking about. Most of all it was a warm, happy gathering of friends, with a few new ones made along the way.
Events like this take more work than most people realise. Alongside the food, the programme and the volunteers, there is the practical stuff that has to be sorted before anyone walks through the door. For this night, that included hiring sound and light systems so the speeches could be heard and the dancers could be seen.
That is where our Supporters Club came in. Through Liquorland Swanson, we were able to help cover the cost of the sound and light hire. It is a modest amount in the scheme of a whole event, but it is the kind of cost that can quietly stretch a volunteer-run budget.
In their own words, the club said: “On behalf of the Club we would like to acknowledge and extend our heartfelt gratitude and thanks to The Trusts, the Waitakere Licensing Trusts, Liquorland Swanson their much needed sponsorship fund towards our sound and light systems hiring costs.”
The West is home to communities from all over the world, and groups like the Filipino-Kiwi Club are a big part of why that works so well here. They give people a place to celebrate who they are, to look after one another, and to raise funds and offer help for causes beyond their own membership. Swanson was the setting on the night, but the benefit spreads much wider.
As a community-owned business, our surplus profits go back into The West through five funding streams. The Supporters Club is the smallest and most local of those, with monthly grants of up to $500 led by our venues, so our teams can back the events and groups right on their doorstep.
Congratulations to the new club officers and to everyone who put the night together. Here is to the next kaupapa.
You can follow The Filipino-Kiwi Club of NZ Incorporated on Facebook to see what they are up to next.
If you or your organisation could use support from The Trusts, find out how to apply at thetrusts.co.nz/our-funds.
