Generous Aucklanders throw their support behind City Mission charity fundraising

A ‘mid-winter Christmas’ charitable fund-raising campaign being run at a chain of bars and restaurants this week has captured the support of generous Aucklanders – with dozens of big-hearted customers getting behind the cause.

The city’s five Belgian Beer Cafes - De Fontein in Mission Bay, De Post in Mt Eden, The Ponsonby in Ponsonby, Blankenberge in Takapuna, and The Occidental in the central city – have organised a week of mid-winter fundraising activities to help raise money and boost supplies at Auckland City Mission’s soup kitchen and food bank.

The mid-winter charity fundraising initiative began last week and culminates with a mid-winter Christmas charity dinner on July 22. Throughout the entire week, the bars are donating $1 from each of the thousands of main courses sold – with proceeds going directly to Auckland City Mission, while on the final night, the venues will add an additional five per cent of all revenues to the donation tally.

Since promoting the mid-winter Christmas initiative through advertising in the local media, on radio, and directly with the bars’ email databases, bookings for more than 147 places at the mid-winter Christmas charity dinner have been taken across the five bars.

Four of the venues belong to national hospitality group Frenzi Group with Blankenberge owned by Kevin Schwass. Frenzi Group director Brian Collins said that as well as raising money for Auckland City Mission, each of the bars had received considerable donations of non-perishable foods such as rice, pasta and tinned goods.

“Word of the fundraising campaign spread quite rapidly among the local business communities around the five Belgian Beer Cafes, and each of them has received various items which will be auctioned on Thursday night – again, with all proceeds going to the Auckland City Mission,” said Brian Collins.

“The people helped by the great work Auckland City Mission does, come from a variety of backgrounds – but at the end of the day they are fellow Aucklanders who need some support to get them through a cold and bleak winter.

“There is a limited number of tables which are still available for the mid-winter Christmas charity dinner on Thursday, but we anticipate these spaces will fill quickly as existing bookings add further guests to their numbers and word continues to spread about the event,” Mr Collins said.

Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson said the organisation was extremely grateful for Frenzi Group’s generous offer of help. She said that it was particularly gratifying that with all the pressures Auckland businesses were under, that the local bar and restaurant group had started this initiative to assist their fellow Aucklanders in need.