March 2025

March has flown by in a whirlwind schedule of centenary celebrations. The Cholmondeley team has thoroughly enjoyed connecting with alumni, former staff and supporters. 

Making it to 100 is a significant milestone for the Centre and one that would not have been possible without the generosity of the Canterbury community. To make sure Cholmondeley can continue caring for children when they need it, see how you can ‘Give a Good Night's Sleep'  and support Cholmondeley.

Our staff have been making the most of the warm weather and taking the children on lots of outdoor-focused trips around Christchurch.

We held our Centenary Golf Tournament at Russley Golf Club, a private function at the Centre for Cholmondeley supporters and descendants of our founder, and an Open Day which the Governor General attended. 

As part of our anniversary, in each month's newsletter we will be sharing a story of a Cholmondeley alumni. This month Charlotte Basher told us about her experience at Cholmondeley and how a conversation she had at the Centre changed the course of her life.

Looking ahead to some upcoming events, Over April 4th and 5th, we are holding our annual Street Appeal with volunteers stationed outside supermarkets around Christchurch collecting for Cholmondeley. We are still need in of volunteers.

Thank you again for supporting Cholmondeley. It has been wonderful to meet so many friends of the Centre and mark our centenary together. 

To read more about Cholmondeley's past 100 years take a look at this story in The Press.

Summer at Cholmondeley

When tamariki stay at Cholmondeley they get to try lots of different activities with our staff, both at the Centre and off-site.

There have been lots of trips to the beach and Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, and plenty of time spent looking for crabs and shells down in Governor's Bay.

Cholmondeley Centenary Golf Tournament

Cholmondeley's Centenary Golf Tournament presented by Ilam Toyota kicked off in early March. We had perfect weather for a day of golf at Russley Golf Club.

There was a fantastic range of activations across the day, thanks to all the businesses involved for bringing their creativity to the course. A special shout out to Ben Sexton and his team from RB Recruitment and Vortex Contracting, for their entertaining karaoke bus activation. We also had Jess one of our Youth Worker's and two Refocus children running a 'longest drive' competition with marshmallows, which was such a hit!

Thank you again to our sponsors ILAM Toyota, Gallagher Insurance New Zealand, New World Ferry Road and all of the supporters who donated prizes.

Special Centenary Celebration

On our 100th anniversary we had the privilege of welcoming descendants of Hugh Heber Cholmondeley, former staff, and alumni back to the Centre to celebrate this milestone, along with some of our wonderful supporters.

During this special occassion we unveiled our time capsule, a beautiful work of art designed to hold mementos from the past 100 years at Cholmondeley. Thank you to Glenn Maguire for his expert craftmanship and to the team at Holmes Solutions for their support bringing this to life.

The great turn-out at this event reflected the lasting impact Cholmondeley has had on so many tamariki and their whānau across the last 100 years.

Cholmondeley Open Day

Our dedicated centenary events wrapped up on March 15th with an Open Day for the public.

Thank you to everyone who came to visit the Centre to learn more about what we do. We enjoyed sharing our special place with you.

More than 200 people came through the gates including the Governor-General, Her Excellency The Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro, local elected representatives, Cholmondeley children and students from Governor’s Bay and Christchurch schools.

With the help of a team of volunteers, we sold Cholmondeley-grown strawberry plants and local succulents, sausages and raffle tickets. The What Now team also brought some fun with their gunge machine.

Thank you Addington Raceway for generously providing catering, and to the lovely musicians for giving up their time to serenade our visitors with their tunes.

Charlotte's story

In the late 1990s following a 'breakdown' in her family home, 10-year-old Charlotte Basher came to stay at Cholmondeley for the first time. One of seven children in her family, Charlotte was struggling with the problems at home, so her mum sent her to Cholmondeley for respite.

Charlotte has fond memories of her time at the Centre, and recalls getting potato chips as rewards from the teacher, and the children all eating together in the dining room. But she also got up to some mischief. 

It was this mischief that led to a turning point in her life. After a 'big incident', a staff member pulled Charlotte aside and told her, "whatever you do from here you choose which path you want to take, it's up to you."

This conversation stayed with her, "I ruminated on it for a good couple of years and then when I left high school I always kept that in the back of my mind like, 'this is my choice what I do now,'" Charlotte said. 

She studied, worked hard, and moved up the ranks in the social work and disability sector. Now Charlotte has a top management role training staff, advocating for, and supporting people living with disabilities.

While she has put in the work to succeed, Charlotte credits that moment and that conversation at Cholmondeley for changing her life, "I wouldn’t be who I am today if I didn’t go to Cholmondeley," she said.

Upcoming Events

While our dedicated centenary events are over, in the second half of this year we will also have our Little Gems evening event, Fit for a Cause exercise event and Sailing Regatta to look forward to. Keep your eyes peeled for more information as further details are confirmed.

Cholmondeley Centenary Street Appeal - April 4th & 5th

Our Street Appeal is booked in for Friday April 4th and Saturday April 5th. If you have an hour or two to spare and would like to collect for Cholmondeley please fill out this form.