Legacy donor gives incredible gift to SPCA Centres

Our Legacy donors are an incredible group within the SPCA community, who have chosen to help the SPCA and its animals by leaving a gift in their Will. They leave a lasting impact by helping to ensure that SPCA will always be here to support New Zealand’s animals.

One such Legacy donor, Maureen Hawthorn, is a dedicated supporter of SPCA through both her Legacy gift and her regular donations. Her generosity is endless, and she regularly purchases items for SPCA – including in January, when she gave a record-setting gift!

For the past year, Maureen had been buying and collecting items for the animals in our care. This amazing collection of items included:

• A wheelbarrow
• Over 100 cat and dog toys, including big and small knotted ropes, ball throwers, Frisbees, tennis balls, and squeaky rubber chickens
• Towels
• Sheets
• Buckets
• Scrubbing brushes
• Mats
• Plastic buckets
• Over 300 blankets
• 9 bed and blanket sets, specifically for our foster carers

The donation was so large that the decision was made to divide it between multiple Centres, ensuring as many animals as possible would benefit. Items were divided between our Māngere and Hobsonville Centres in Auckland, our Hamilton Centre, and our Thames Centre.

With Debbie Madden (Relationship Manager) taking deliveries bound for Māngere, and Corey Regnerus-Kell (GM Animal Services) delivering Hamilton-bound items, the delivery for Thames Centre proved more troublesome. After multiple failed attempts to drive the items, Nicola Atkin (Donor Relations Specialist for Legacy) turned to the North Shore Aero Club, whose pilots saved the day!

On Saturday 27 January, while Thames’s Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield prepared for their annual Wings & Wheels show, Steve Jones (Auckland), Peter Scandrett (Pauanui) and Lloyd Morris (Auckland) flew their aircrafts – two RV 7s and an RV 4 – loaded with the donated items, from Auckland to Thames, joining the queue of aircrafts waiting to land. Upon their landing and in communication with Stuart Reid (Display Director), Nicola Atkin joined Thames Centre and Op Shop Manager Brent Thomas in meeting the pilots in the aircraft parking area, unloading the items from the aircrafts into their waiting SPCA van. The gifts were then brought to our Thames Centre, where the team immediately began to replace the old with the new.

A huge team effort, this donation would not have been as successful or wide-reaching without the incredible kindness of our Legacy donor Maureen, and the time and effort of SPCA staff members Debbie, Corey, Brent and Nicola. Incredible local pilots Steve, Peter and Lloyd were instrumental in this amazing journey of kindness, as was Stuart Reid for allowing the SPCA van into the aircraft parking area for loading.