Avid readers will have thousands of pre-loved books to pore over at the Sarau Winter Sale this weekend (19-20 July) in the annual fundraiser for the Moutere community.
It is the main fundraiser for the Sarau Community Trust which funds the Moutere Kai Collective, awards scholarships to young people, and supports many different activities in the community. The winter sale has now been running for a decade and Sarau trust board member Jenny Leith says it all began with books.
“We were running the Sarau Festival (in summer) and were getting so many books for it and numbers were building up so much that we had to do something with them. I’m convinced the blimmin’ things breed! We can sell a huge number of books in a weekend, but we seem to end up with more by the end of it.”
Right now, the trust has a shipping container full of books for the sale and more, which will be displayed alongside pre-loved clothes and toys, with country kitchen hearty soups and homemade baking on the side, accompanied by live music.
It was the former Sarau Festival that also prompted the establishment of the trust and in the past decade, Jenny says, it has been able to raise and distribute about $257,000 for the community.
In September, community groups can apply for funds from the trust, while the Moutere Kai Collective gets ongoing support.
“It’s the major group we support and it has been busy putting out extra meals in the past couple of weeks for the floods. It usually puts out over a thousand family meals each year for people in need.”
The Moutere Kai Collective also keeps the Motueka Maternity Hospital stocked with meals for families to take home after the birth of a baby and Jenny says other critical support services in the wider region also benefit.
This weekend, the doors open at the Moutere Hills Community Centre for the Sarau Winter Sale on Saturday and Sunday, from 11am to 3pm each day.
