‘‘There was a lot more that needed to be done than just the storage — we wanted to do it right.’’
Mitre 10 Helping Hands project manager Paul Fisher said initially, the kitchen and break room were the only things that were going to be renovated.
‘‘But it was becoming a bigger project as the floors in the break room were not level, so we were going to have to redo all of that as well — the walls were falling down.’’
Both Mr Fisher and Ms Scammell said because it was turning into a bigger project they decided to ask the Mitre 10 national head office for a bit of help, which it said it could supply.
This included Helping Hands team member Stan Scott coming south to help with the project, along with a film crew that made a video of the process to post online.
Mr Fisher said Mr Scott visited the site in December to get the lay of the land.
‘‘He had a look at the tack shed and gave us a call and suggested that we renovate that too.
‘‘There has been great communication between the three of us in the past three months to be able to get this project under way.’’
They renovated the whole kitchen, adding in new appliances as well as the break room and the tack shed, which they decided to carpet at the last minute.
‘‘We have had every trade under the sun help with this project.
‘‘New flooring has been added in, both buildings are up to code and suppliers stepped up to help out.’’
Mr Fisher said the Riding for Disabled volunteers could now boil the kettle in the tack shed without it freezing over in the winter.
‘‘They never could have done it on their own. There was so much that needed to be done and a lot of local trades came out to help.’’
Mr Scott said it had been great to work on the project.
‘‘The volunteers have done so much for the kids and they deserve a pat on the back.’’
The Timaru branch of Riding for Disabled is one of New Zealand’s oldest. Children have one session a week during the school term.
Timaru Riding for Disabled head coach Wendy Marr said its programme was for all disabilities, whether it be physical, mental, or behavioural, with the coaches helping set individual goals with the children.
‘‘There is more going on than people realise.
‘‘Simple things like shooting balls into a hoop help with hand-eye co-ordination and muscle strength.’’
She said anybody could contact them and that they were always after volunteers, especially younger ones.
‘‘You don’t have to know anything about horses — we provide training and we also have some jobs that don’t involve horses.’’
Timaru Riding for Disabled treasurer Alison Farren said it applied for help, but did not expect it.
‘‘I only asked for a cupboard. It has been phenomenal and we are grateful for everything.’’
She said good stuff like this helped attract people to come and volunteer and it had been emotional and overwhelming.
‘‘It’s amazing. It is making all the difference and now that momentum has picked up there will be a flow-on effect,’’ she said.
