Momentum Waikato Update - August 2024
Published on 17 September, 2024
Nau Mai, Haere Mai!
Welcome to the new look Momentum Waikato Update newsletter.
As you can see below, we have launched our new brand and new website, moving away from the ‘purple M’ to a logo we’re calling the ‘Momentum vortex’.
The rainbow version is the fun informal version that is now our primary banner, while the black-and-gold version is the classy formal version for when we do ‘black tie’ events.
Big thank you to our supporters Pan The Love Agency for the brand and the website and Key Imagery for the suite of new photos and video on the site and to come.
They’ve done us great favours with this re-brand project, so we recommend them for both their mahi and as supporters of community activity.
Margaret Wilson: Why I am a Momentum trustee
The Waikato has been the home of my family since the 1880s.
For me it has always been a special place because it has a real sense of community.
That is why I joined Momentum Waikato as a Trustee, because it was an opportunity to give back to the community that has given me so much over the years.
Long-term love of Gardens inspires support for next amazing space
Alice is Margo's favourite thing in the Gardens.
Enjoying the development of Hamilton Gardens over many years has led a local couple to make a significant donation towards its planned Medieval Garden (above).
Margo and David Connell, founding directors of successful local firm Connell Contractors, experienced the pre-Gardens site as youngsters and are amazed to see how it has grown in the decades since.
“We’re long-term residents of Hamilton,” says Margo, “and each generation of our family has got so much pleasure from the Gardens”.
Medieval quest seeks donations for latest time travel experience
Hamilton Gardens enthusiasts now have the opportunity to support the completion of its Medieval Garden (above), the next new time-travel experience at the city’s premier visitor attraction.
A fundraising campaign to raise $300,000 needed to complete the new themed space has been launched by Momentum Waikato, the region’s community foundation.
The design of the Medieval Garden will be based on the ruins of the St John of the Hermits Monastery in Sicily, made up of a ‘Cloister Garth’ for prayer and meditation and an ‘Apothecary Garden’ for growing medicinal herbs and healing plants.
Help preserve the Hauraki Coromandel for future generations
The Hauraki Coromandel holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many.
Whether it is summer holidays spent at the family bach, exploring secluded islands by boat, or spotting rare and endangered birds while hiking through lush forest, there are many reasons for treasuring this wonderful region.
Our experiences may vary, but one common truth remains: the Coromandel is a place of unparalleled natural beauty, globally recognised as one of New Zealand’s biodiversity hotspots.
But the Coromandel we know, and love is under threat.
With recent weather events severely impacting the region, it's clear that climate change is not only threatening our natural environment and precious biodiversity, but our way of life.
Established in 2017, the Predator Free Hauraki Coromandel Community Trust (PFHCCT) has an ambitious goal to scale and link conservation efforts across 286,000 ha from Te Aroha to Moehau. Its Field Support Team of three rangers provide vital practical on the ground support in all aspects of community conservation work to 60+ groups around the region.
Securing perpetual support for neo-natal care
In 2022 the Prime Minister’s Science Prize went to a multidisciplinary team at the University of Auckland doing world-leading research into abnormal blood-sugar levels in newborns, work partially funded by a small Waikato trust that has been quietly supporting the critical care of premature and sick babies for nearly forty years.
The Waikato Sick Babies Trust was set up in 1983 by Head Newborn Unit Pediatrician Dr Tony Cull and a group of supporters to help fund the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Waikato Hospital, which Dr Cull had established three years earlier.
Departing Words from our CEO…
Simon Wickham, outgoing CEO of Momentum Waikato
I have loved working here at Momentum Waikato, but it is time to say farewell, as I am moving on to a new role in September as CEO of Rowing New Zealand.
Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to briefly acknowledge the following fine people.
The small but mighty Momentum Waikato team, you are some of the most dedicated people I have ever worked with. Tireless in your efforts to create and grow endowment funds for the long-term benefit of the Waikato’s communities, your commitment to service beyond self is outstanding, and you have been a lot of fun to work with too!
The donors, I have met some truly warm-hearted locals that really ‘get it’ in terms of making an inter-generational difference and are leaving a lasting legacy that will go on giving to the things that matter most to them, long after they’ve left this world. Your humble and deeply generous contribution is so inspiring.
