Timaru Rotary Club members have been running the firewood project for around 12 years, and have continued to play a big part in ensuring families in need have access to free firewood.
This year, they delivered 1850 bags of firewood to families in need, and notably, a large amount was given to Timaru’s growing refugee population.
Presbyterian Support South Canterbury (PSSC) Refugee Settlement Service manager Tracey Miron said being able to provide refugees with a free source of firewood was very important.
"When they come into the country, they come with literally just a few bags. We help settle them into their homes, and coming from some of the countries they do, the cold is a real issue.
"They really appreciate [the firewood] because they’re not used to things like heat pumps or local heat. So actually having a log burner is really good.
"This makes it so much more affordable for them whilst they settle into New Zealand and get used to the lifestyle here."
There were now 40 refugee families in Timaru, Mrs Miron said.
"I would say probably not far off 50% of them would have log burners in their properties.
"It’s one of the things that when we go into a property and we see it’s got a log burner, we think great, this would be a really suitable house for them."
"We are regularly receiving families now and lots of families with really young children. So this initiative has been really beneficial for them."
She was very thankful to Rotary for its continued support, Mrs Miron said.
"We are just really grateful for how it’s given with joy,which is just really lovely."
The Refugee Settlement Service was also looking for volunteers to assist with the service and anyone looking to volunteer was welcome to pop into the PSSC office to see how they could help, she said.
Timaru Rotary Club firewood project co-ordinator Tony Henderson said the need for firewood had not gone away.
"There’s a market — we’re not selling it, but there is a demand for warm houses," he said.
"Perhaps the number of houses that have got rid of their fires has probably increased, but there’s still a lot and a lot of them are people who can’t afford heating.
"We’re just pleased to be able to provide them something and we’ve always had a policy that we don’t want to be the ones to decide who needs it, because that’s not our business.
"That’s why we work with the social service agencies, Presbyterian Support and St Vincent de Paul, Age Concern and Salvation Army."
A morning tea was held last week by PSSC to thank the men and women behind the project.
