Wellington Curtain Bank - 10 years of awesome
Published 12 March 2020
A decade of awesome
Wellington Curtain Bank celebrates 10 years of warming up kiwi homes
On Wednesday, 4 March 2020 we had a wee party to celebrate 10 years of providing free curtains to homes in need. A milestone moment for the Wellington Curtain Bank, we bought together former and current staff and volunteers involved in the Curtain Bank, our community partners and our sponsors to reflect on our achievements and to say thank you.
Story of the Wellington Curtain Bank
It all began in 2010, on Horner Street in Newton.
We’d been providing advice and insulation through our home energy programmes and noticed that a lot of the homes we visited did not have curtains 😟
Sarah Free, the original force behind the Curtain Bank saw an opportunity to make a difference. She reached out to Genesis Energy and they said YES to helping us out 🎉
So in 2010, with help from Genesis Energy we took over the house next door and the Wellington Curtain Bank was born.
Left to right: The first sign, first coordinator - Erika, first sewer - Wisam, first (but not last) party.
That year, we provided 360 sets of curtains to 91 homes
As demand grew and so did we. Before we knew it, it was 2012 and we we’re moving into our new home - 2 Forresters Lane, Wellington
The following year, we began running Mobile Curtain Banks - In Mirimar / Kilbirnie / Strathmore
That year, we provided 1,549 sets of curtains to 571 homes
Since that was such a success, we decided to expand to Wainuiomata, Hutt City and Upper Hutt before going up the coast to Porirua & Otaki.
Since 2010:
we’ve given out 16,670 sets of curtains to 4,636 homes
kept 75 tonnes of textile waste out of the landfill &
stopped 88 tonnes of C02 from entering the atmosphere
Of course, none of this would be possible without help from our AMAZING volunteers
Who have dedicated thousands upon thousands of hours of their time to helping others
Coretta Scott King once said:
“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members”
And we could not be more proud to be part of such kind, compassionate and exceptionally great community.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED US GET HERE.
Listen to Access Radio, B-Side Stories coverage of the Wellington Curtain Bank 10 year celebration
Thank you to our sponsors. We couldn’t do this with out you.
The Curtain Bank is made possible with funding from: Genesis Energy, Lotteries Grants Board, Hugo Charitable Trust, Nikau Foundation and Wellington Community Trust & support from: Lewis’s Home Fabrics, Capital Gateway Motor Inn, West Plaza Hotel and Alsco NZ Wellington.