Thank you to everyone who has contributed to help Manny and Sarah get into a van.
We realised it may be helpful to have a fixed goal doso people know where we are and where we need to be. Based on Manny's needs and research to accommodate them we're aiming for 70000.
Thanks team. We so appreciate every single one of you.
Over the last couple of weeks, we have been very grateful for the extra support we have got since our friend Andy re-started the Campaign. We are very grateful for the support.
On Saturday our van situation was in Stuff, a major media outlet in New Zealand. If you have not seen it, here is a link
https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/132930728/christchurch-man-denied-funding-for-mobility-van-again
If you have a chance to share this link, it would be appreciated, as the more people who know, this spreads the load for everybody.
A message from Manny:
Thank you once again to all the wonderful people who chipped in to help with purchasing a mobility van for me and my family. We are hugely grateful. We stopped this givealittle in May, because we felt like it was time to apply for funding from the lotteries commission, which helped fund our old van. Last week I heard back from the lotteries. They said even though the old van was uneconomical to fix, I was not eligible because they have a 6-year stand-down period - I received the funds for the other van five years ago.
While writing the lotteries application, I also learned that for a mobility van to meet the relevant code, I must have 50mm of head clearance when I sit in my chair. So I need a large van, like a Mercedes Sprinter, VW Crafter, or a similar one, which is more expensive than we were hoping to spend.
We also found the used van market quite tight at the moment, which pushes up prices. Therefore our minimum target is now $65,000.
We are therefore going to re-open the givealittle page.
We know this is a big ask, and we are grateful for all we have already received, but we would very much value any further support through donating or sharing our page so that we can get back to some form of normality.
Thanks
Manny
Kia ora koutou.
Thank you all so much for your generosity, love and support for Manny, Sarah, and Nate. We are thrilled with where we have gotten to. Over $30,000 is just mind blowing, and we can't express our gratitude enough.
The next steps for finding the right van for the Koks family involves Manny now applying for grant funding in the hope that a grant will add to what has been donated and land them in a position to get the absolute right thing that will suit them for years to come so we aren't doing this again anytime soon! Unfortunately mobility vans don't come in cheap! It was extremely unlikely that a grant alone would have been enough, so to even dream of getting the right vehicle would not have been possible without all your generosity and love. So than you all again so much. We will keep you all posted.
Andy
Thanks so much to everyone who had donated so far. We are thrilled. We have decided to leave the page open for one last month as a few who would like to contribute need just a little longer
Thanks so much to everyone who has pitched in already to support Sarah and Manny purchase a new van. Thanks to a whole heap of you we're well on the way. Every bit, big or small, is adding up. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
There's still a long way to go though so please share this page far and wide with anyone who might be interested in supporting a great whānau. And let's get this done!
Kia Ora, all our supporters.
Sarah and I (Manny) just wanted to take a moment to say how humbled and grateful we feel for the support you have given this Givealittle campaign so far. We’ve been blown away.
Your support has been a tremendous gift of encouragement leading up to Christmas.
While we a still some way off our goal for a replacement van, your generosity has definitely eased our stress levels.
We do have one small request. If you have not yet shared this campaign on your social media, can you please do that?
We both wish you all a blessed Christmas and a great new year.
Manny and Sarah
