NZCB joins forces with ITM to help Bay of Islands Animal Rescue

On Saturday 10 October 2020, I travelled up to the Bay of Islands/Far North region to support the local charity build for the Bay of Islands Animal Rescue.

At 8:00am, the builders (all members of New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) Bay of Islands/Far North) got to work at Bay of Islands ITM at Waipapa. By 6:00pm, the 6.4m x 3m fully insulated and wired office was ready to be delivered to Bay of Islands Animal Rescue.

NZCB President Bay of Islands/Far North Mark Todd, from Kerikeri, said “Fifteen local NZCB members completed the new transportable office in just nine hours. Some of us hadn’t been on the tools for a while, so it was a good chance to dust off the apron and get stuck in!

“Fifteen local NZCB members completed the new transportable office in just nine hours.”

NZCB President Bay of Islands/Far North Mark Todd

When one of the Bay of Islands Animal Rescue volunteers approached our committee about the need for an office/ emergency shelter, we were all elated to be able to assist them. They run on a shoestring budget of volunteers and donations, so for us as NZCB members, it was really satisfying to be able to give back to this worthy charity.”

Project co-ordinator and ITM Sales Manager, Sean McNulty, said his family got involved with the Bay of Islands Animal Rescue last year as a short-term foster family and since then they have fostered around 30 rescue dogs and one kitten.

‘’We saw a need for them to have a base, so we approached ITM and NZCB with the idea of building an office,” Sean said.

Sean added that there is a lot of compassion and generosity from the volunteers, as well as the non-stop dedication from Summer Johnson, who founded Bay of Islands Animal Rescue in 2016. Summer works in the community from her van to help neglected animals but also works with local families in need of support.

Sean’s wife stenciled dog paws on the floor to make it prettier until the lino arrived, everyone loved the paw prints so much they are no longer going with lino and have instead sealed the prints in with acrylic vanish. The guys were working non-stop from 8:00am through to 5:30pm on the tools, resulting in the office/ emergency shelter being completed ready for transporting to site. Other firms came to the party including Bay Windows who donated windows and First For Electrical, who donated and installed all electrical fittings. Since 2016, Bay of Islands Animal Rescue has rescued, fostered and rehomed thousands of animals, mostly dogs but also horses, cats, pigs and other animals that need help. In August this year, they rescued 131 dogs, 76 of which went to Auckland for rehoming, while 55 are in foster homes in Northland. Sean ended our conversation by saying “It was a great day, resulting in some very tired builders. A big thank you to all of those who helped out.” From an NZCB National Support Office point-of-view, this event had a very special cause and I saw it as an honour to be involved. It shows that our NZCB members’ have real local unity and a community spirit, which highlights the character of our Association. The guys were working non-stop from 8:00am through to 5:30pm on the tools, resulting in the office/emergency shelter being completed ready for transporting to site. Well done to Mark and the boys for their efforts. BAY OF ISLANDS Bay of Islands Animal Rescue is a rescue and rehoming charity. They are a non-profit volunteer organization that runs purely on donations and fundraising. For more information on how you can

Mark Todd NZCB President

BAY OF ISLANDS/ FAR NORTH

Bay of Islands/Far North donate or become involved visit www.bayofislandsanimalrescue.org.nz