Haven Avondale

23/05/2026

And Jacs 👍🥰🌺

MEET THE TEAM 🧚🏾‍♀️

“I started volunteering in Avondale in 2012 with Avondale Community Action and have been working with I Love Avondale as it evolved from a social media project to a community-led kaupapa then a Charitable Trust with three offerings: Kai Avondale, Pātiki Hubs and Storytelling.

A big part of my job is to awhi and champion this mahi and the project leads - Anne, Jess and Katy. That part is easy. These wāhine toa know their neighbours and their mahi so well, and they work with so much integrity and joy, that I just need to be their biggest cheerleader.

Beyond our team, I’m the go-to for a number of partners and strategic relationships that keep us keeping on. I’m also the one hustling for the funding that fuels our fire. I couldn’t do this part without Sue - a humble expert.

One of the treasured parts of my mahi is growing people power and holding decision makers accountable to Avondale. I’ve written and delivered countless submissions to Auckland Council and central government, sent official information requests and held the line in many spaces where Avondale locals must have their aspirations recognised and acted on. Convening the Avondale Racecourse Alliance (ARA) is a real highlight of my advocacy work today. As the Director of the I Love Avondale Charitable Trust, I am accountable to our board and am grateful to them for volunteering their time to sustain us into the future.

I’m based at Haven Avondale 2-3 days a week and am always up for meeting new people from the ‘hood and connecting and collaborating with the community-rooted people I’ve worked alongside for years.

What we do at I Love Avondale isn’t a ‘nice to have’. It’s crucial for community cohesion, for binding us in times of pressure and surrounding us in times of celebration. I want to thank every person who has ever gifted us their time or a few tins of food. Those of you that are at the end of a phone call when it feels really tough and our communities feel misunderstood and under-invested in. Most of all I want to shout out the team, who for me are like family. I truly love everything about my mahi.” - Jaclyn Bonnici (3rd from right)

15/05/2026

MEET THE TEAM 🥰

“What do I do? Some say admin or governance, some say paying the bills. I keep the IRD accounts up to date and balance the transactions so that’s what it looks like on a daily basis. It all seems to take longer than it should but it’s all needed to support Jaclyn in her role and the extraordinary awesome team of Anne, Jess and Katy.

At the very start, the roots of I Love Avondale were looking for ways to give the people of Avondale a voice and this excited me. I wanted to be part of that in whatever way I could - and the mahi we do now is showing that really well.

And the ‘why?’ is to find ways to ensure that not-for-profit organizations thrive and grow, especially I Love Avondale. It is such a cool place to work and live.

Crazy as it seems, I enjoy governance/structure aspects, the things that make organizations tick and being able to build others up. Organizations work well when the team fits together like a jigsaw - each members’ mahi is woven together.

I have so many highlights of working with I Love Avondale but I really like how Feed the Streets was born. A random conversation between Leilani and streetie Dion where she asked him what we could do that would be helpful and he responded with ‘a hot meal’. Almost 9 years later, and the meal has grown, with Anne and the volunteers seamlessly navigating covid and the Community Centre closure. It’s been so empowering seeing volunteers thrive and find a place to give. Feedback from some guests about the meal itself is that it helps people feel like they belong. It really highlights that we are part of the social fabric for many so it’s good for their psyche in times of unrest or uncertainty, like the cost of living or fuel crisis, for us to remain consistent.

I also loved Great North Gallery, especially the Mothers project. I love the idea of kids walking past and seeing themselves up there! I love Eastdale Hub and Breakfast Club, it’s such important work and the memories that People of Avondale profiles evoke.

Go I Love Avondale!” - Sue Thirkettle

15/05/2026

Incredible Katy Galo 👌🌺

MEET THE TEAM 🌺

“I’ve been the Storytelling lead at I Love Avondale for almost 5 years now but my partner Dayne started its social media in 2014 so it has been a part of my life for a lot longer.

Essentially my job is to capture stories from the neighbourhood - to celebrate the people and place, promote local initiatives and events, keep the community informed and encourage people to participate locally.

I wake up grateful for my job every day. Not only am I lucky to work in the neighbourhood where I live and my children go to school, but I feel really honoured to be part of recording stories of Avondale for future generations to look back on. One thing that is really cool about the social media is it often acts as a meeting space for people to connect over their love for Avondale and to share their own memories.

Some of my highlights of working with I Love Avondale have been the opportunities that have come up for some people when they connect with others at events or in spaces that we hold. One example is a local couple who booked Eastdale Hub for a sports event. They shared photos they’d taken at their event and they were SO good, I asked to meet with their photographer. Dom () is now one of our go-to photographers for events and she used to document our Great North Gallery every month. Her husband Richy led our sports module last term, teaching local kids Tag at Eastdale reserve. Together they also gave some local rangatahi the opportunity to play sports for a nearby club - an opportunity they might not have had otherwise. This is just one of many examples of really cool things that happen around us!

Avondale is such a cool suburb. We have green spaces, like Riversdale, Eastdale and the racecourse, a mix of industrial and residential properties, the Whau river and the people. There are so many good people doing amazing things! Dayne started the social media as a way to counter the negative narrative often in the media about Avondale, and it is such a privilege to play a small part in celebrating all the great stuff going on here.” - Katy Galo

07/05/2026

Jess Beattie 👏🥰

MEET THE TEAM ✨

“Kia ora e te whānau, I have been the Patiki Hub Coordinator at I Love Avondale for just over 3 years now.

I get asked all the time, “what do you do?” In a nutshell - I am the connection between kura and whānau; the community link that bridges the gap between the two.

My mahi is a bit different as I host Breakfast Club at TKoP alongside the best support team anyone could ask for in the mornings - S/O to the dream team (Mesepa, Sifa, Enid, Tina, and Shahieda) and in the afternoons I’m at Eastdale Hub running programmes for our tamariki, rangatahi, wāhine, and tāne.

I wouldn’t even call this work - it’s so much more than that. It’s an absolute pleasure to be able to live, work, grow, and play in the same neighbourhood I grew up in. Every day I’m excited about going to mahi. I’m constantly surrounded by the people that make our community so great, doing the things we love most, encouraging, supporting, and creating opportunities for our community to thrive.

I’ve always been a huge advocate for asking our people what they want, as opposed to thinking I know what they need.

There really is no place like Avondale, you are always drawn back here. Even those who leave, they always find their way back home. There’s something so special about that and I’m so glad my parents decided to call this place home.

The people are what make Avondale - so many generations of whānau still here to this day. It’s crazy to think of all my old school mates growing up and now I’m watching and supporting their kids grow up. A real full circle moment for me. It’s unbelievable how much talent we have here. I just hope that all of our young people get their chance to shine.

There have been so many magical moments while working for ILAD but a real stand out would have to be my sons loving the mahi I do and aspiring to be like me when they are older. They love our connection to this place, this whenua, all the kura they’ve gone through. My biggest flex - raising and having happy and healthy boys who admire our community and love the mahi my workplace does.” - Jessie Beattie

03/05/2026

Check this upcoming workshop at Haven Avondale. Need more information please contact Zachary Haldane 0204836097

20/12/2025

Kia ora tamariki ma,

Dont miss out our events! Bookings are open for all our free sessions — be quick, as spaces fill fast! 🏃

02/12/2025

⛱️ December is here and it's full of cheer! Many of our regular programmes are winding down for the summer break. But, before you go, be sure to check out our school holiday events and get the tamariki signed up for our awesome Raumati Reads programme. 🎄

➡️More info on Raumati Reads here: https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/en/school-holidays.html

02/12/2025

30/10/2025

Thanks 👏👏Jody for framing and hanging these pictures and the poster for us at