Good evening, my friends.
I come to you, feeling a bit like a disappointment. You know that most of our money every year comes from you, our donors. And that's it, apart from contributions from Yellow for specific projects. This last year has been rough for us, and I didn't really want to tell you about it because it's been rough for a lot of people.
But we've reached a point where our fundraising is down $50,000 from the previous year, and I've had to tell the women of the Aunties whānau that we can't afford the extras at the moment.
Every month they get $350 pak n save card each. They're still getting that, because food is important.
And I'm still taking them out to lunch because relationship and feeling special is important.
But for the time being, there will be no car repairs, no clothes shopping, no brand new phones or Chromebooks. None of the stuff that costs big, and that nobody will give us for free. We are in ongoing talks with Yellow as to how they can support us - and they've provided all the women with movie vouchers for the upcoming school holidays - but they aren't a big company. Not a huge corporate.
Why should we care? I hear you ask. Isn't the food enough? Don't you provide them with enough?
To answer that question, I'll answer another question. Bear with.
About a week ago, I did a Q&A and one of the questions asked was - why should we give YOU our charity dollars? What makes YOU special?
And the answer is this.
We primarily support just 27 women and their kids. Doesn't sound a lot does it? Bigger organisations have huge reach.
And here's the difference between us and them.
We are able to provide intensive material and emotional support to these 27 women, and it's ongoing. There are no checklists, no see ya laters. What we do works BECAUSE it's so intensive and ongoing. Because that's what people need when they're healing from a lifetime of abuse and trauma.
Nobody else really provides that ongoing support, materially OR emotionally. Because they can't. More people serviced? Perhaps. But, I would suggest, less effectively.
So I'm asking you all to dig incredibly deep so that not only can we provide these women with the surety and confidence that we have their back, but so they understand how much we value them. That whatever need arises in their lives, we have them covered. Comprehensively.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support, and love. It means everything.
We welcome subscribers to the general account so we can keep providing for women who not only deserve it, but to whom it is owed.
The Aunties
12-3019-0022633-00
OR
We are a registered charity. Please email treasurer@aunties.co.nz for receipts