Charities ‘so thankful’ for firewood fundraisers

Two council-led charity firewood days will take place this year after the success of last year’s event.

This weekend, Tasman District Council will sell 200 trailer loads of dry firewood ahead of the cold winter months, thanks to the support of its forestry contractor PF Olsen, as well as Steve Thompson Ltd and Downer.

To get a load district residents must buy a ticket for $100, but just over three quarters have been sold as of Monday. Tickets can be bought at the Richmond or Motueka council service centres.

Tickets were introduced to 2024’s Firewood Charity Day after 2023’s free-for-all event generated a 6km traffic jam, and ticketholders will be required to show up at a specific time on Saturday to limit traffic impacts.

All proceeds from this week’s event – about $20,000 total – will go to two local organisations: Nelson Tasman Hospice, and Whakatū Refuge. 2024’s event was coordinated by the Fifeshire Foundation and saw $25 tickets sold for firewood that will be ready to use this winter.

Fifeshire Foundation executive officer Shanine Hermsen says she is “grateful” to keep up the event with TDC, which she describes as a “great partnership”.

Last year’s “spectacular” event saw 142 loads of firewood bought cheaply by low-income families.

About $3600 raised from the ticket sales also contributed to the foundation’s winter grants, which opened last week.

Those grants last year saw about $80,000 spent on loads of firewood or direct power bill payments for struggling locals.

“It’s hard to say what the demand will be this year, but I suspect it will be up there, and it’s harder and harder for families. It’s great that we can help out in this way,” Shanine says.

“We’re seeing more and more people coming to us for our monthly grants that are struggling to get by.”

The publicity of last year’s firewood event encouraged a forestry operator to donate firewood to the foundation, which was being chopped up by the local Menzshed.