Happy New Year - and Thank You for Your Support in 2025!

Happy New Year from the team at ElderLink, and thank you for your support in 2025! As we move into 2026, we are looking back on everything that came together over the past ten months. When we started operations in March 2025, our goal was simple: get reliable groceries to Marlborough over-65s who were struggling to make ends meet on superannuation alone. Thanks to the generosity of local donors and volunteers, that idea became a steady routine that supported dozens of people across the region.

December was our busiest month yet. Our team put together holiday hampers filled with pantry staples alongside festive extras from Mitre 10 and Good Bitches Baking, so our clients felt treated over Christmas. Delivering those boxes right to people's doors gave us another chance to catch up and make sure everyone was managing all right. For many seniors living alone, that visit and conversation mattered just as much as the groceries.

Looking ahead to 2026, we have plenty of practical work lined up. The garden plot we took on at the Blenheim Community Gardens late last year is going to be a great initiative, and we're looking forward to future harvests of fresh greens and vegetables over the coming months. Getting that homegrown produce directly into weekly food parcels will help us provide healthy meals without stretching our budget.

We are also continuing our regular presence in town. You will still see our volunteers out selling raffle tickets on Market Street during the week and at the Redwoodtown Market on Saturday mornings. Every ticket bought and every dollar dropped into our buckets goes straight into stocking grocery boxes. Thank you to everyone across Marlborough who backed our work in 2025. We look forward to working alongside you throughout 2026.

To our volunteers, a special thank you for making room for ElderLink in your week. Time is a generous gift, especially alongside work, family, and other commitments. There is no grand ceremony for the everyday jobs, but we want to acknowledge the effort behind them. We hope you have had a chance to put your feet up over the holidays too. You have certainly earned our thanks!

To our clients, thank you for welcoming us into your week. We have talked plenty about what goes into the boxes, but the parcels are only one part of the relationship. Your company matters to us too. We hope January brings you some sunshine, a little time to enjoy the summer, and a few good reasons to smile. From all of us at ElderLink, our warmest wishes for the year ahead.

A special shout-out to treasured client Kieren Friel, who has left Marlborough for a new adventure in Timaru. We loved having Kieren in the office, playing the piano and serenading us with a song. He brought a wonderfully lighthearted, whimsical touch to the day, and his presence will be sorely missed. Kieren, we wish you all the luck in the world on your journey down south. Thank you for the music and the memories!