āhuru • hapori • whakauka
About our Service
Dunedin Curtain Bank was established in 2013 to ensure those in need were given the capacity to stay warm through being given free curtains.
Our work is funded by grants and donation for which we are very grateful as this makes our service possible. We also raise funds for our service through our paid curtain making and alteration service; as well as our Enviroshop, which features bags and other items upcycled from re-cycled materials and curtain offcuts.
We provide on aver 400 sets of curtains annually to those in our local community. In addition to curtains, we also provide:
- Curtain Hooks – With each pair of curtains given we give a bag of hooks – all of which have been recycled from curtains donated. We recycle over 10,000 hooks annually!
- Healthy homes packs that provides info on how to reduce humidity and how to kill mould in their homes, as well as linking to other local orgnaisations that provide services in the healthy home space.
We are donated on average 1,200 curtains annually – way to go Dunedin! These curtains are then assessed, shelved, and then altered and lined to provide the best fit for our clients homes.
How the Dunedin Curtain Bank positively affects the community:
- Homes with good quality curtains are warmer, drier and healthier. Additionally to these benefits, homes have reduced heating costs.
- Community members who benefit from our service feel more in control of the conditions inside their homes, and are empowered with the knowledge of how curtains contribute to the performance and health of their homes.
- Many of our clients live in rental accommodation and have a number of health issues. Renters are more likely to report living in cold, damp homes and they have no control of capital improvements of their homes.Good curtains play an important role in home insulation and therefore the health of the property as well as cutting fuel poverty and improving health for tenants.
- The World Health Authority states a satisfactory indoor environment is defined as being at room temperature of at least 21c in living areas and 18c in other parts of the house. Our clients’ who cannot afford to heat their homes must be able to rely on trapping in the sun warmth at the end of the day by using curtains.
Manager's Report 2021
2021 has been a busy year for us, and we’ve seen a steady increase for our service, with curtain provision up by 53% on
the previous year.
In the past year(April 2021 -March 2022) we have provided:
• 458 pairs of curtains, 18 single curtains, and 25 curtain tracks.
• ·290 packs of curtain hooks – saving over 14,500 hooks from landfill
• In addition to curtains, we’ve also provided our Healthy home packs with info and resources on how to create a warm, drier, and healthier home.
We’ve processed 146 referrals and helped 418 individuals to have warmer homes due to the provision of thermally lined curtains.
As per previous few years, over 50% of the household’s accessing the curtain bank have one (or more) person in the household who is affected by health issues, and many, if not most of these illnesses are exacerbated by living in cold, damp housing. Respiratory illnesses were the top presenting health condition, affecting 60% of those households with health issues, and children are particularly vulnerable with respiratory conditions.
Like many other businesses we’ve been impacted by the COVID pandemic and have had to adapt in this new environment. We’ve also worked hard to make our service contactless as possible, with a fully online referral form on our website, and a contactless pick-up service from our reception area.
In addition to the warmth factor, our service also has an environmental impact, as the curtain/fabrics thatare donated to our service are all recycled throughour service, and we are saving most if not all of them from ending up in landfill. Over 1,200 curtains have been donated to Dunedin Curtain Bank in the last year. We are incredibly thankful to our local community for this support. We could not do what we do without our curtains! As most of the curtains that are donated are single layer (or need the lining replaced), we will line and alter them to ensure the best fit for the window. We are incredibly thankful to our funders who enable us to provide this lining and extra warmth factor for our curtains.
I’d also like to say a huge thanks to our volunteers. We couldn’t possibly provide the service we do without you. Our volunteers provided an impressive 2,600 hours to our service in the past year. Thanks for all you do!
Belinda Le Lievre – Manager
Vision: Warmer Homes – healthier futures
Mission: To provide awareness and resources for warmer and healthier homes.
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Contact us:
Ph: 021 224 0922
174 Princes Street, Dunedin Central.
Email: manager@dunedincurtainbank.org.nz
Open Monday to Wednesday 9am till 4pm Thursday