Elephants created by four North Canterbury artists for the Elmer’s Otautahi Elephant Trail have raised $41,000 for the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust.
The outdoor exhibition, featured 30 elephants individually designed by artists, including Mel Eaton, Ashleigh Ritchie, Mandy Palmer and Laura Hewetson, from North Canterbury.
Each elephant was put on public display, from last November to January this year, in a trail around Christchurch and surrounding areas including Kaiapoi and Rangiora. At the end of the exhibition, the elephants were sold at auction to raise money for the trust.
The trail was part of the Wild In Art World project and featured on its website showcasing all the participating artists’ work to an international audience.
The elephants created by Ashleigh, Mandy and Laura all went to private buyers, but Mel’s elephant, Mammoth Woolly sold to Zero Height Safety, a small multi-national company based at 16 Waimakariri Park Drive in Kainga, near Kaiapoi. It has offices in Australia, Switzerland, Germany and the United States.
Anthony Ford, Marketing Manager, ZERO Height Safety.
The company, which is a leading provider of height safety personal protective equipment and industrial head protection, was lead partner for the fundraiser, sponsoring two elephants in the trail including Mammoth Woolly. It purchased three at the end of the event.
Zero Height Safety's marketing manager Anthony Ford says giving back to the community is important to the company.
Its support for the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust started about three years ago with a company teambuilding event, with teams of three finding a charity to support and then holding fundraisers to make as much money as possible for those charities within a certain time.
‘‘The team that made the most money had value matched by our company to give to their nominated charity,’’ Anthony says. The team that supported the Laura Fergusson Brain Injury Trust made and sold cheese rolls throughout Christchurch and won the competition.
When they visited the Laura Fergusson Trust residential facility in Christchurch to donate the money they were so impressed with the support they provide for Cantabrians that they wanted to do more to support them.
‘‘We developed a campaign to give them a dollar for every helmet we sell in New Zealand, and we have been doing this for over two years now,’’ Anthony says.
Published by the North Canterbury News - 25th April 2024