Karaka Habourside House
United to Help Hospice.
KARAKA Harbourside’s “Hospice Job” is taking shape nicely, thanks to a community effort involving developers, contractors, construction workers
and the Counties Manukau Freemasons.
Landowners Jim and Ian Ross have donated a block of land at 1 Corsica Way in the burgeoning Harbourside development. A dedicated team of local businesses, suppliers and tradesmen are now building a five-bedroom home which Mr Ross hopes will fetch $1 million at auction. Every cent of the money raised will go to Hospice South Auckland.
“My brother and I developed the land here and we decided to make this section available to Hospice, but rather than just give them the section we decided to build a house on it, the total proceeds of which will go to the Hospice,” Mr Ross says. “ A lot of people have a soft spot for Hospice. They help a lot of people and I believe if Hospice hasn’t touched your family at some stage of your life, it will. And they are always short of money.” Mr Ross believes the house could crack the million dollar mark when it is finally built and has served six months as a showhome.
The house will be finished in October and auctioned around March or April 2010. The efforts of more than 90 companies and contractors who have offered to help have been very special, he says. Hospice South Auckland Chief Executive Gary Sturgess says he welcomes the “amazing” offer from Mr Ross and the community. “ He’s pulled together all of these tradesmen, there were about two dozen brickies all giving of their time. “When we have people like this and the Freemasons all coming together for a cause its just amazing.”
Mr Ross has been a friend of Hospice for a long time and had a hand in developing the facility at Totara Lodge. Now more than ever a donation such as this will be vital in providing palliative care for people in South Auckland who are facing a life limiting illness. Gary Sturgess says “Under the current economic climate Hospice have had a huge decline in donations. Even with the new Government funding we are budgeting for a deficit, with funding down it puts pressure on us. We are a community based organisation and we can’t just turn the tap off when the funding runs out.”
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