You are here: Home > News & Research > Older Articles
Spreading the warmth - sister curtain bank to open in Huntly
Opening curtains in the morning and closing them at dusk are small daily rituals that take place in households in Christchurch and all over New Zealand. Curtains play a part in our lives that most of us take for granted - they help to keep us warm during the cold winter months and make us feel safe by creating privacy at night. Unfortunately people who live on low incomes do not enjoy the benefits of curtains that most of us don’t think twice about. Imagine sitting in your living room or kitchen for night after freezing night with no curtains to keep you warm and secure.
Since 1995 Community Energy Action has been operating a Curtain Bank to get curtains to those most in need. The intent is to increase the warmth of the residence and reduce power bills. Each year around 220 homes are given curtains. It is purely a charitable service offered by CEA which benefits needy families, the elderly and homes with new babies. Those with a mental illness, beneficiaries, and refugees and new migrant also receive curtains. Approved social service agencies screen and refer people to the Curtain Bank. They assist in measuring up the area requiring curtains and ensure that the client’s need is genuine. The householder selects the curtains they want from the available supply and their selection is then backed and sewn to size.
For ten years the CEA curtain bank has been a unique initiative in New Zealand. But in August this year CEA hosted a visit from Diane Stone and Gail Pere from the Huntly Energy Efficiency Trust (HEET), who were on a fact-finding mission on how to set up and manage a curtain bank. CEA curtain bank staff Gayle Katene and Kay Williams spent two days with Gail and Diane sharing their knowledge and experience gathered over many years. Running a curtain bank is not as simple as it may seem. It requires a sound understanding of how to re-fit and install recycled curtains of all sizes to different windows, excellent organisational and customer service skills, plus good relationship management with social service agencies. In no way was the knowledge exchange a one-way street. Gail and Diane also brought some fresh ideas about how to promote the curtain bank and attract more donors to meet a growing demand for curtains.
People are often overwhelmed at the quality of the curtains they receive and the difference they make to their lives. Curtain donors and the social workers who help to organise curtains into homes also get a lot of satisfaction from knowing that they are helping to keep families warm and cosy. In short, everybody benefits from being involved and now thanks to HEET’s efforts, the ‘feel good factor’ of curtain banks is starting to come alive in the North Island.
Bede Martin, CE of Community Energy Action said “it’s great to be able to support HEET’s new curtain bank. Soaring electricity prices have made it more and more difficult for people on low incomes to keep themselves warm, and curtains can help to make a big difference to the temperature in a house. CEA would like to see curtain banks established in every town and city in New Zealand. We wish HEET all the best for their new service.”
The unsung heroes of curtain banks are the hundreds of people and businesses who donate their old curtains. The colder than expected winter in Christchurch this year has placed a heavy demand on CEA’s Curtain bank, and supplies are diminishing. HEET is also faced with the task of establishing and building a curtain bank under the same challenging circumstances. CEA hopes that people will not forget the opportunity to make a difference when disposing their curtains. We are looking for curtains that are reasonably clean. Faded curtains will be accepted as the faded area can be removed by CEA machinists. Donations of curtain rails are also very welcome.
If you would like to donate curtains or curtain rails to the CEA, call Gayle Katene at 363 9579, or drop them into the Curtain Bank at 198 Armagh St between the hours of nine a.m. to three p.m. For more information about CEA’s Curtain Bank, go to http://www.cea.co.nz/projects/#curtain.
The HEET Curtain Bank is sponsored exclusively by Genesis Energy. For more information about HEET Curtain Bank, go to
http://www.genesisenergy.co.nz/genesis/index.cfm?
5BD17841-B21F-F29E-4C0D-91667EF6113C
or call (07) 828 8004.