Bay Harbour: April 14, 2021

Bay Harbour News Wednesday April 14 2021
16
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
MEANINGFUL:
The art piece
‘Forest Flight’
will be sold
for $2800
and proceeds
will go to the
Diamond
Harbour
Volunteer Fire
Brigade and
Artists Against
Slavery’s
cause.
Right: The
designated
track for the
fun run.
Art group to help raise funds for
victims of abuse through fun run
• By Samantha Mythen
KEEN PARTICIPANTS: John Simkiss (left) will be running
to raise money for Hagar International. Dereck Porter
suggested the idea of the fun run fundraiser.
SMALL ACTIONS plus many
people results in huge change.
This is the belief of Artists
Against Slavery, a Diamond
Harbour based charitable organisation,
which uses creativity to
fundraise for the rescue and rehabilitation
of trafficked people
worldwide.
The Diamond Harbour
challenge fun run event is its
upcoming fundraiser. The event
is on April 24, starting 9am participants
can either run or walk
from Godley House site to the
wharf and back as many times as
they like. The distance is about
910m per lap.
In the lead-up to and during
the event, participants can find
sponsors to donate. All money
raised will be donated to Hagar
International which works with
trafficked women and children
in Cambodia, Vietnam and
Afghanistan.
Artist Janie Porter established
the organisation in 2009.
Said Porter: “I want to use the
gift I’ve got to make a difference.
For all the artists involved, whether
they paint or sculpt, whatever
they do, they want to both create
and make their life count.”
Porter’s husband Dereck is a
runner and suggested the fun
run event. Porter set the date
and is making it happen behind
the scenes.
Resident John Simkiss, will
be starting the run at 9pm on
Friday, 12 hours before the official
beginning. He is planning
to run all night around the
playing fields before joining in
the official event laps at 9am on
Saturday.
“I like to run, so thought, why
not run longer,” he said.
“I have known Janie for a few
years and seeing her fundraising
efforts has inspired me. As a
runner I thought, why don’t I do
my part with running.”
Simkiss has already done numerous
running events to raise
money for Hagar International.
He does not have any fundraising
goals but encourages
people to donate or even just
participate.
“Getting to know about the
cause is just as important.”
Porter is donating a painting
to be sold at the event too, where
half of the proceeds from the
sale will be donated to the Diamond
Harbour Volunteer Fire
Brigade and the other half will
be donated to Artists Against
Slavery’s cause.
Porter explained six laps of the
course is the equivalent of up
and down the Bridle Path and 18
laps is the equivalent of going up
and down Mt Herbert but even
one lap counts.
“You can do one lap. You can
just stroll it. Anyone can join
and if you are frightened of
finding sponsors, you can just
sponsor yourself,” Porter said.
“It is a fun thing to do with
friends and for a really good
cause.”
The organisation also runs
other fundraising events.
Artists donate work to the
organisation to fundraise. They
also participate in exhibitions
where a portion of money from
the artwork sold goes to Hagar.
The next exhibition will be held
in Diamond Harbour in October.
In July, five local high school
students will exhibit their work.
In October each year, people
are asked to donate $10 – the
10th month.
Porter explained if 100 people
donate that is $1000, which can
make a world of difference to
trafficked people’s rehabilitation.
The group also runs coffee
morning fundraisers, where for a
small fee, which will be donated
to Hagar, people can listen to an
artist guest speaker. The most
recent guest speaker was printer
maker and oil artist, Gaby Reade.
To register for the Diamond
Harbour fun run email
janieporter.art@gmail.com
or for more information go to
artistsagainstslavery.org
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