On Sunday 5^th March the first group of volunteers for Te Rauhii’s community fundraiser watched hot air balloons rising into the sky as they set up for the day ahead.

We have all seen charities and community groups utilising Bunning’s awesome sausage sizzle initiative, and this time it was Te Rauhii cooking up the snags for hungry customers! With the help of some fantastic Bunning’s staff, we had the BBQ and gazebo set up in record time. Sausages, onions, sauces, bread, napkins, and ice-cold drinks were lined up ready to go – all we needed now were the people!

Luckily the smell of cooking sausages and onions quickly enticed people over and we were away. While there was a bit of a learning curve (people don’t mind exploded sausages, right?!) our team quickly worked themselves into a good rhythm, passing on sauce techniques and onion-to-bread ratios to the next group of volunteers who came to help.

We served children, watching as their smiling faces quickly became smothered in sauce, guys who could carry three snags in each hand, a father and daughter team who bought one each on the way in and one each on the way out (“we’ll just tell mum we just bought the second one, okay?”), and a couple who bought sausages for their dogs too! Even though it was a hot day and we were working hard, our volunteers remained positive and perky as the day went on, chatting to customers about Te Rauhii’s fantastic programmes and always serving with a smile.

Throughout the day we had students, parents, Board of Trustee members and Te Rauhii staff volunteer their time to raise funds for the programme. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to raise $666.80! These funds help Te Rauhii remain freely accessible, providing a fun and inclusive musical education to our tamariki and rangatahi in Hamilton.

Te Rauhii would like to extend an enormous THANK YOU to all of our amazing volunteers, and to Bunnings South Hamilton for making this fundraiser happen. It was a whole lot of fun, and we look forward to future fundraisers!