Industry Mates Play Cops and Robbers For Kiwi Kids
The stretch limo the team will drive in – keep an eye out for them in March, and contribute to their fundraising total
Blues Brothers join Variety Trillian Bash charity rally
A group of Tauranga mates with powder-coated aluminium skins and marshmallow cores have formed a team to join the 25th
Variety Trillian Bash charity road rally, raising funds for Kiwi kids.
Glenn Wilson knew of the work Variety – The Children’s Charity does with Kiwi kids when his own son, who has cerebral
palsy, got a sports sponsorship to help him take his dreams further.
That boy is now a student and raising funds for the charity himself, and he got his dad to rope in a mate, Hori Lack, to
come along to a three-day Variety Mini Bash.
Glenn, who designs and constructs aluminium gates for a living, went straight back home and roped in Auckland and
Hamilton mates met through the industry. Both the eight-day Variety Trillian Bash and the Variety Mini Bash not only
raise funds for New Zealand children in need of a hand, they also deliver grants along the often rural route. “Doing a
Mini Bash really opened up our eyes and hearts to how much help is needed to fill the gaps for New Zealand children,
families and communities. As soon as we got home we told Aucklander Mark Barden and Hamilton’s Hamish Lamb about the
good Variety does, and the fun that goes with it, and they joined us to form a team.”
That fun comes via quirky cars and costumes, and the actors, entertainers and comedians that get on board to bring a bit
of magic into sometimes difficult lives.
“We picked a Blues Brothers theme and a stretch limo painted up in ‘police’ colours, we’ve fitted sirens and lights, and
we’re ready to rock when the Bash starts in New Plymouth on March 7,” Glenn says. “And we can’t wait for it to loop
through Tauranga later that week to show our sponsors – the X-site Group, Opotiki Drainlayers, In-Style Gates and
Automation, Aluminium Artistry, Nalco Aluminium, Bay Powder Coaters, Bay Insurance Brokers, Chester’s Plumbing, Strong
Brothers, and Elite Automotive – what we’re up to.”
Glenn reckons the team might become a regular. After all, with the Variety Bash, “You can see where your donations, time
spent getting sponsors, and fundraising is going, and seeing the smiles on children’s faces is priceless.”
ends