Harrisons Ride to the Rescue After Play Centre Flood
When taps were left running over the long Waitangi weekend, the mums and kids of Kaukapakapa play centre returned to find floors, walls and their entire kitchen ruined.
But, thanks to Darren and Hayley Buksh from Harrisons Carpet North Harbour, the community centre is back up and running – and not out of pocket.
Although insurance was able to pay for repairs on most of the damage, the play centre’s carpet mats – which weren’t smelling particularly fresh after the flood – weren’t covered so the group decided to set up a Givealittle page to raise the funds to replace them.
Generous friends, family and members of the Kaukapakapa community eventually raised $600 – which other carpet companies had said would cover the cost of three of the five required mats.
But Darren didn’t want to see the centre’s hard fund-raising work come up short and so organised for five new replacement mats and three extra ones – all overlocked and personally delivered.
And when the centre emailed him to thank him for being “a pleasue to deal with” and ask about his bank details for payment, Darren replied “Also please keep the money you have raised and invest in some new toys or materials for the kids”.
The centre’s Grant and Funding Officer, Renee Harris, said the donation meant so much to the families who use the play centre because raising money is “hard work for us”.
Darren said he and Hayley had two children themselves and, although they were a bit older, he understood the value of having a play centre in a small community like Kaukapakapa and the difficulties in getting the centre back to full working order after being flooded out.
“They first contacted me through the call centre as an enquiry,” Darren said. “But when I contacted them back and found out more and how they were on a tight budget, I realised I’d have to take a bit of time to find the right mats for their money.
“That was when I was treating them as a customer – but as I got to know them a bit more and found out a bit more about what they do, how good the setup was and how they had worked hard to raise the money, I knew from that point that I’d pay for the mats as we wanted to give back to the community.”
And because the play centre was always going to need tough, durable and resilient mats to cope with the regular use, Darren also knew that he would have to supply the right type of mats, made to the right specifications.
“I was mindful that I didn’t just want to get them a cheap carpet because it would wear out in no time,” he said.
His choice was a solution dyed nylon carpet range called Lorenzo that is hard-wearing and easily washable and “one of my best ranges in the van”.
So now the Kaukapakapa play centre is back up and running with the perfect overlocked mats to suit their mums and toddlers, Darren’s happy that his generosity means they can now use the money they raised through their Givealittle page to splash out on more enjoyable things.
“When I saw the good that they do I thought it would be a good idea for them to spend the money elsewhere,” he said.
To experience Harrisons great customer service, why not arrange a free in-home consultation and talk to our experts about which of our carpets and mats are right for your home, lifestyle and budget. For more details, call us on 0800 421 001 or contact us via the website.
