Community Trust of Mid & South Canterbury

08/10/2026

WELCOME TO THE AHU TEAM, CARA & MICHELLE!

Please join us in welcoming Cara Gregan and Michelle Thompson, our two newest Trustees at Ahu Community Trust.

We’re thrilled to have them join the Trust, bringing with them a wealth of professional experience, strong local connections and a genuine commitment to our Mid and South Canterbury communities.

-Meet Cara Gregan

Living in the Waimate District for most of her life, Cara has witnessed how a thriving community supports residents and businesses to achieve. As a Trustee on Ahu Community Trust, Cara sees this role as supporting the region of South and Mid Canterbury to thrive.

Cara has held various roles supporting her community while utilising her banking and agribusiness expertise. She and her husband John are proud dairy farmers at Hunter and have three grown children who are forging their own professional paths, supported by the foundations provided to them by the South Canterbury community.

-Meet Michelle Thompson

With a background in business, Michelle has spent her working career in South Canterbury, working in two family businesses through periods of significant growth and change. She brings practical experience across construction, engineering, precast, property development and people management, along with a sound understanding of dairy farming through her husband’s involvement in the industry. Michelle also brings strong local knowledge and real-world experience.

Over the years, she has been involved in local sport in Geraldine, including netball and squash, and has participated in the South Canterbury Charity Bike Ride. She is currently a keen supporter of the Geraldine sculpture trail and loves a good garden.

At home in Geraldine, Michelle has two cats, both caught wild in Washdyke, who now help keep the local mouse population under control.

We’re delighted to welcome Cara and Michelle to Ahu Community Trust and look forward to the knowledge, experience and perspective they will bring to the Trust and our communities.

Welcome aboard, Cara and Michelle!

05/10/2026

We’re getting behind Frocktober!

Our Community House tenants are coming together this October to support Frocktober and help raise awareness and funds for vital ovarian cancer research.

We love seeing the organisations within our Community House community get behind important causes like this. We’ll be looking forward to seeing everyone get their frocks on and joining in the fun!

Find out more about Frocktober here:
www.frocktober.org.nz

Frocktober is here!

This October, the NFP organisations from Community House are getting behind Frocktober, helping raise awareness and funds for vital ovarian cancer research.

Frocktober is New Zealand’s most fashionable fundraiser, encouraging people to dress up, have some fun and raise funds for a very important cause.

It’s a great opportunity to get involved, start conversations and help make a difference.

Find out more about Frocktober and how you can get involved:
www.frocktober.org.nz

Community House, Timaru is getting our frocks ready!

Ovarian Cancer Foundation NZ

24/09/2026

Ahu Community Trust Chair Di Hay and Sports Canterbury South Canterbury Regional Manager Shaun Campbell celebrating the Trust’s granting of $150,000 towards the Aorangi Stadium redevelopment, in September 2026

24/09/2026

FREE Community Governance Workshops

Want to strengthen your community group and build your governance skills?

Ahu Community Trust is proud to fund these FREE Community Governance Workshops, designed to help community groups become stronger, more effective and better equipped to make a real, lasting impact.

You'll learn practical tools, connect with others who care about their communities, and leave feeling more confident and equipped to make a difference.

There are three opportunities to attend:

-GERALDINE

Monday 12 October | 1pm - 4.30pm

Geraldine Health Hub, 190 Talbot Street, Geraldine
Afternoon tea provided

Register here:
https://events.humanitix.com/geraldine-community-governance-workshop-october-12th-2026

-TIMARU - EVENING SESSION

Monday 12 October | 5.30pm - 9pm

Timaru District Council Chambers
Supper provided

Register here:
https://events.humanitix.com/timaru-community-governance-workshop-evening-of-october-12th

-TIMARU - MORNING SESSION

Tuesday 13 October | 9am - 12.30pm

Multicultural Aoraki, 14 Butler Street, Timaru
Morning tea provided

Register here:
https://events.humanitix.com/timaru-community-governance-workshop-october-13th-2026

These workshops are ideal for non-profit board and committee members, as well as managers, coordinators and others supporting community organisations.

Choose the session that works best for you and register today. Registrations are essential!

23/09/2026

A huge congratulations to our very own Dana, who has won the MS South Canterbury Paint the Town Orange Decorating Competition!

Dana, created this incredible handmade display for the Community House reception area. From the orange flowers and butterflies to the beautiful tree, the amount of creativity, time and effort that went into it was amazing.

The display certainly caught people's attention and got plenty of people talking about Multiple Sclerosis during Awareness Week.

And Dana didn't stop there! She also baked for our Community House orange morning tea, helping make the week extra special for everyone in the building.

We are so proud to see Dana's creativity and effort recognised with this well-deserved award. It was also fantastic to see the Community House team and tenants come together to support MS South Canterbury and Paint the Town Orange.

Well done, Dana! We are very proud of you and your fantastic contribution to such an important cause in our community.

16/09/2026

Today, the Community House family came together to show support for MS Awareness Week and our friends at Multiple Sclerosis South Canterbury.

It was wonderful to see all the tenants getting involved, wearing orange, enjoying an orange morning tea and making donations to support the important work MS South Canterbury does right here in our community.

We’re incredibly proud to have such a caring and supportive group of organisations under one roof. When one of our Community House family needs a little extra support, we’re always happy to get behind them.

We’re proud to stand alongside MS South Canterbury this Awareness Week.

15/09/2026

We have to give a shoutout to our very own Dana, who has absolutely outdone herself with this incredible handmade display for MS Awareness Week!

We’re pretty lucky to have such a talented and creative person here at Ahu, and we love seeing her creativity on display in the reception area of Community House. It’s already getting people through the doors asking questions and finding out more about MS, which is exactly what awareness is all about.

This is just the beginning of Paint the Town Orange, and we’re so proud to see our Community House tenants, local businesses and the wider South Canterbury community getting behind MS South Canterbury this week.

If you see something orange around town, get involved, show your support and help spread the word. Every bit of awareness makes a difference to people living with MS in our community.

And if you haven’t already, make sure you follow and support MS South Canterbury throughout Awareness Week to see all the amazing things happening across South Canterbury.

Well done, Dana. You’ve definitely set the bar high!

14/09/2026

We’re delighted to see this exciting milestone for the Te Kura Marumaru South Canterbury Museum project!

Ahu Community Trust is proud to support the South Canterbury Museum Development Trust and the vision for a new museum that will preserve and celebrate our region’s stories, history and heritage for generations to come.

Reaching $1.5 million of the $2 million fundraising target is a fantastic achievement, and we can’t wait to see this project continue to take shape. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Exciting news! The Community Trust of Mid & South Canterbury have just donated $80,000 towards the exhibition fitout for Te Kura Marumaru South Canterbury Museum! This generous grant now brings our total to $1.5 million of a $2m target - we're 75% of the way there😃😃😃😃😃😃😃.

And don't forget, you can easily support this project by visiting www.scmdt.org.nz where you can read more about what is planned and make an online donation directly from your bank account. Every little bit helps, and you'll receive a charitable donation receipt which may be used for tax purposes.

Here's Museum Director Philip Howe with Ahu Community Trust chair Di Hay and SC Museum Development Trust chair John Simpson this morning outside the new museum site.

09/09/2026

What an incredible weekend for Art in Motion Wearable Arts!

We were especially proud to see just how many members of our Community House family were involved in making this fantastic event happen.

From the months of preparation leading up to the show, through to helping behind the scenes and on the day, so many people from the organisations based at Community House volunteered their time and skills to help bring Art in Motion to life.

Community House is home to a wide range of organisations, and it was wonderful to see everyone coming together outside of their usual roles to support something so special for our community.

A special shout-out to some of our own Ahu team members who played a huge part:

• Catherine, Ahu's Grants Manager, is one of the founders of Art in Motion.

• Dana, Ahu's Operations Co-ordinator, was behind the scenes doing makeup for all of the models.

• Our CE, Tim, was also involved, manning the front of house for Friday night's Friends and Family dress rehearsal.

It's moments like these that really show the strength of the Community House family. Different organisations, different roles, but all coming together to support something special for our community.

Congratulations to everyone involved in making this year's Art in Motion Wearable Arts Show such a huge success. We are incredibly proud of the many Community House volunteers, Ahu team members and tenants who played a part in bringing this amazing event to life!

07/09/2026

KEEPING OUR YOUNG PEOPLE SAFE ONLINE

Parents and caregivers, this is an important opportunity to learn more about what young people are actually seeing online and how we can help protect them from harmful content.

Presented by Brett Harvey from Tāima Kōrero | Time 2 Talk, these free sessions are for parents and caregivers of young people aged 3 to 18 years.

Two opportunities to attend:

Tomorrow, Wednesday 9 September at 7pm
Thursday 10 September at 10am

Life Church Timaru
134 Morgans Road, Timaru

Free entry, all welcome!

Register here:
https://tinyurl.com/Timaru-Parents

A great opportunity to gain practical knowledge and confidence when it comes to helping keep our young people safe online.