kiwis in need

Monday night, Kurt and I attended a fundraiser to benefit the earthquake recovery efforts in Christchurch, New Zealand. The event was held at Public in Soho.

In addition to the suggested donation at the door, KEA was raising money by holding a silent auction. There was lots of New Zealand wine up for bid (Kurt's boss, Steven, won a 10 bottle set "for the office"). There were several pieces of clothing from NZ brands (like Icebreaker) and a signed rugby ball and jersey. However, my favorite item was the chance to have a barbecue with New Zealand's former Prime Minister Helen Clark on her Manhattan rooftop during the summer. How awesome is that?! It was definitely a big draw. Early in the evening I saw the bids were up to $1300! I would like to know what it ended at. There were definitely some very generous offerings. 

The restaurant was serving cocktails, wine, and beer from New Zealand (is it bad that I sampled all three?!) and some delicious hors d'oeuvres (the mini venison burgers were my favorite). Even though Kurt and I weren't able to throw down a crazy amount of money at the auction, I hope our humble donations will help make a dent in the devastation in Christchurch. Every single person I have met from New Zealand has always been so kind and endearing, I have no doubt they would reciprocate ten fold if we were ever in need. They sure know how to throw a good party too :)

{top 3 images via Public's website)

{last 2 via my crappy camera, hence the super dark shots and blurriness}

Update: I heard KEA raised over $23,000 from the event!

Update 2: The photographer at the event has posted an album on facebook. Check it out! He got this wonderful shot of Kurt, myself, and Terrain's New Zealand intern, Sylvia. Kurt seems to be yelling at her about something. Jeez. Workplace aggression :)