A Gisborne teenager says the gift of a new car through a charitable initiative has motivated her to keep pushing herself.
Wheels of Hope has been run by the Gisborne Collision Centre, formerly DJ Mac Panel & Paint, since 2023 in partnership with The Sunrise Foundation and sponsors, including AA Insurance, Turners (used car dealers) and Brian Roberts Towing.
Through it, a family or person in need is given a vehicle repaired and refurbished by Gisborne Collision Centre.
Tolaga Bay’s Steffanie and Shane Miller were selected to receive a Toyota Aqua in 2023 after losing all their possessions in Cyclone Gabrielle.
This year, applicants from across the region shared their stories about how a vehicle – this year a Toyota Prius – would make a difference for them and their families.
A selection group led by The Sunrise Foundation evaluated the submissions.
The winner, 17-year-old Aroha, had her story put forward for the Wheels of Hope project by Rosie Allan – a kaimahi (worker) at charity SuperGrans Tairāwhiti Trust
“A car would make a huge difference to Aroha and her whānau’s life. Aroha has been a great supporter of SuperGrans and has worked hard to look out for herself when her parents weren’t able to,” the application said.
“SuperGrans would love to see Aroha with this vehicle as she continues to achieve her goals and work alongside us.”
Photo / Hazel Blue Photography – Maria Wilkens
Aroha has been working at Grey St restaurant Captain Morgans for two months and said the car would help “heaps” getting her to work.
She plans to move to Australia when she is 21 to work in the mines like others in her family have done.
“It is a big help. It has got me to keep moving and keep pushing myself forward,” Aroha said.
Allan supported her when her dad was in jail, she said.
“She helped me with food and told me to keep looking for a job. I started helping at SuperGrans with her, and she asked me ‘would you like to help?’ I said I would love to help, find some new things in life and learn some things.”
Allan let her know she planned to apply to Wheels of Hope on her behalf and she agreed without thinking much of it until she got the call she had been selected.
Allan said SuperGrans supported Aroha while she got her licence and did a defensive driving course.
Aroha was a communicative and resilient young woman, she said
“[Aroha] is very determined and knows what she wants to do. [She] just needs a little awhi [support] to get there.”
Her father, Mike Rosewarne, said he was “elated” for his daughter.
“I am real happy for her. I thought it was a joke. She said ‘I won a car’ and I was like ‘what, one of those little matchbox cars?’” Rosewarne said.
The owners of Gisborne Collision Centre, Phil and Maria Wilkens, bought the business and moved to Gisborne from Tauranga in September 2022.
Phil said they had always liked to get involved in the community with charitable endeavours and they came up with the idea for Wheels of Hope while discussing how they could help their community after Cyclone Gabrielle.
“We repair cars for a living, so how about we find a family that needs a car and find a way to donate it to them.”
He said he hated when a vehicle was written off because it was a waste and he felt it was important to restore a vehicle that would otherwise go to the tip.
“It’s perfect because we are not taking the vehicle away from anyone. It is something that would have otherwise ended its life.”
This year the focus was on finding a young person who needed a car to jump-start their driving journey.
Phil said Turners looked at which was most suitable among several options and they settled on the Prius because it was economical and reliable for a first-time driver.
“We had to replace quite a few windows. We ended up repainting half the car, the radio was smashed, both the front and the rear were pretty munted,” Wilkens said.
“The team were on board and they were happy. I think there is a difference between doing your normal job and doing something special where you know this will go to a person in need, so the team really took to it.”
Several local businesses contributed vouchers and other things to go with the car.
“The whole city comes together and helps one person change their life.”
James Pocock joined the Gisborne Herald as chief reporter in 2024 after covering environmental, local government and post-cyclone issues in Hawke’s Bay. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives near Gisborne. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz.
