Bay Harbour: November 08, 2023

Bay Harbour News Wednesday November 8 2023
8
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
The tradie saving charities ‘thousands’
• By Dylan Smits
FINDING THE community
where you belong can inspire
great generosity. For Australian
electrician Mick Bennett,
moving to Cass Bay in 2016
sparked his desire to offer free
services to charities.
Bennett founded Tradies for
Charity in 2017 to help charities
save on repair, installation and
building costs by offering free
labour and expertise.
Balancing charity work with
running his small electrical
company can be a challenge, but
Bennett said it is worth it.
“It is so rewarding that I
almost feel guilty. It feels like I
get more out of it than I could
ever give.”
The charity has tooled up
for jobs in the bays at Te Puna
Auaha Lyttelton Makerspace
and the Whakaraupo Carving
Centre Trust. In Christchurch,
the charity has supported the
Battered Women’s Trust and
Dogwatch Sanctuary Trust.
Bennett enlists the help of other
tradies when the job type and
workload demands it.
Born in Melbourne, in his
adult life Bennett has seldom
lived in one place for too long.
Until he moved to Cass Bay with
his wife Meredith.
“I came here and got more
connected with the community
and settled and sort of found
my resting place in the world
here in Lyttelton and in the bay,”
Bennett said.
The values he saw in the
community inspired him to start
charitable work.
“It’s very sort of open and
forgiving and very, you know,
considerate and empathetic,” he
said.
When his business Ausmic
Electrical started making a
profit, Bennett considered where
he could apply his skills for
charities. He then found there
were no organisations looking
for electricians.
“I sort of got a bit deflated with
that.”
Bennett then started talking
with Meredith and she suggested
starting his own charity. He
registered Tradies for Charity
as a charitable trust. Bennett
said no money goes through his
charity and he tries his best to
separate it from his business.
Makerspace co-founder Paul
Dietsche could not give an
exact number but said Bennett
had saved the organisation
“easily thousands” of dollars in
electrical work.
Bennett saved the Makerspace
from needing additional funding
HELPING HAND:
Tradies for
Charity founder
Mick Bennett
and Whakaraupo
Carving Centre
Trust employee
Eugene
Whakatope.
for the electrical work, Dietsche
said.
The Makerspace has been a
work in progress since 2019. The
space aims to become a hub for
repair, craft and creative projects.
Tools and materials will be
shared and recycled within the
community.
Dietsche said Bennett has his
“massive thanks” for being a
great partner to the community
hub.
“He is a great guy.”
Out of all the jobs Bennett has
undertaken since starting the
charity, he is most proud of his
work wiring up the Makerspace.
“To get it to the point where
they can actually start utilising
it, it’s been very, very fulfilling.”
Bennett appreciates the
gratitude of the organisations
he helps, but said the fulfilment
of doing the job itself is all he
needs.
He has lost track of the
number of jobs, small and
large, he has undertaken since
founding the charity.
The work keeps Bennett
busy. He has several ongoing
projects for the charity. At
the Whakaraupo Carving
Centre Trust, Bennett tests new
appliances for safety and trains
the staff to do the same.
A struggle for Bennett is
finding other tradies who are
generous enough to give their
time for free.
“It’s quite difficult. It usually
ends up just being me. It’s hard
to find people,” Bennett said.
The charity needs plumbers
and builders. Bennett has some
building experience, but for
more complex jobs he needs a
qualified builder for sign offs.
“If there is any tradies
interested, yeah, give us a shout.”
• Tradies interested in
applying their skills for
charities can apply at
tradiesforcharity@gmail.
com