The Appeal

On 22 February 2011 a devastating earthquake hit Christchurch, New Zealand, killing more than 180 people and causing widespread destruction to the city and essential services.  As part of its response, the New Zealand Government has launched the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal to assist with raising funds to rebuild the places at the heart of the community and to support the people of Christchurch.

As a company with close links to New Zealand, the Evans Randall team have their own personal stories of how the earthquake has affected their friends, family and the people of Christchurch.  In order to play our part in the fundraising effort for the appeal fund, we’re hosting Step Up 4 Christchurch - a charity stair climb up London’s iconic “Gherkin”, a building that we jointly own.

In terms of fundraising, our goal at Evans Randall is simple.  It’s to raise as much money as possible for the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal fund.  We aim to achieve this through our own contribution to the Government’s Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, the generous support of our event partners and from the donations and sponsorship raised by participants.

We have chosen to donate directly into the Government’s Christchurch Earthquake Appeal fund because it is targeted at specific areas of the recovery that will directly and tangibly improve the spirits and quality of life of all members of the Christchurch community.  The programme of works will address the following:

• Hardship and relief – winter is coming and many people have no homes, children are travelling long distances to makeshift schools and the elderly and disabled have had expensive equipment irreparably damaged.

• Education – Thirty-seven schools in Christchurch are closed. Many schools are running on reduced hours with a lack of basic equipment like books and computers.

• Sports and recreation – almost half of the sports grounds are unusable due to liquefaction and sink holes.

• Heritage and culture - Sixteen of the 20 city libraries are closed. Every building at the historic Arts Centre was seriously damaged with the repair bill put at $100 million.

• Natural environment - This includes the parks and rivers, and other parts of the natural environment impacted by the quake or its after effects.  The rivers have suffered large scale erosion from storm water and liquefaction affecting water course.

• Spiritual and faith - This will be directed at providing support to rebuild places of worship where such organisations lack the financial resource to repair themselves.  Dozens of churches and other faith centres were ruined.

• Economic revitalisation - Business has taken an enormous hit.  Amongst the directly affected, there were 6,008 companies with over 501,000 employees working within the closed ‘redzone’.  Already 722 commercial properties have been ‘red-tagged’ and can’t be entered at all. Other businesses in Canterbury region are suffering from reduced demand.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says: "The 6.3 magnitude earthquake which struck Christchurch on February 22 was a tragedy for the city and for New Zealand.  Friends from around the world - including the United Kingdom - immediately came to Christchurch's aid and for that the country is extremely grateful.

"The recovery and rebuilding effort in Christchurch is underway, and it is going to be a long-term project for the Government, community groups and the people of Christchurch.  That's why I launched the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, which is the official, global fundraiser for the recovery effort in the city and the Canterbury region.  The Appeal is designed to meet those needs which fall between core government responsibilities, like roading and other infrastructure, and the domain of charitable agencies which provide immediate hardship relief.

"Since the Appeal was launched, there has been a huge outpouring of assistance from throughout the world, which is extremely heartening for all New Zealanders and the city of Christchurch.  On behalf of New Zealand, I would like to thank all those people who are contributing to the recovery effort in Christchurch.  Having New Zealand's friends from around the world standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Christchurch means a lot.  Thank you for your support."

The Step Up 4 Christchurch Appeal is a Charitable Trust held with the Charities Aid Foundation.  CAF is a charity established under English law and registered at the Charity Commission under charity registration number 268369. All proceeds raised from the event will be donated directly to the New Zealand Government’s Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

Please note that the number and web address shown above in the YouTube clip are only for donations from people located in New Zealand.