Bell Gully Summer Clerks

Students beat the heat to help out patients 

Eager Bell Gully summer clerks showed they weren’t afraid of hard work as they painted, baked and pruned their way through a volunteer day.

The 22 students visited the homes of LBF patients needing a helping hand in Auckland and Wellington on Wednesday 30 January, 2008. Despite the heat, the group worked tirelessly to chop down trees, clear fish ponds, clean carpets and help out with household chores.

Another group was based at the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation’s national office in Epsom, Auckland, painting rooms and making meals for the patients’ freezer in Auckland City Hospital’s haematology ward.

And their cooking duties didn’t end there, with summer clerks baking scones and pikelets for morning tea for patients at both Auckland and Wellington hospitals.

The volunteering day was the brainchild of law firm Bell Gully, who are keen that students taking part in their summer clerk programme give something back to the community.

Bell Gully has been a much-valued supporter of the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation over the years through our Shave for a Cure fundraiser. Staff and partners have competed with PricewaterhouseCoopers to raise tens of thousands of dollars by shaving their heads.

The summer clerks’ energy and enthusiasm was certainly appreciated by the patients, many of whom are currently undergoing treatment. One commented: “It would have been impossible for us to accomplish what they did and it has given us a real lift…”  Another added: “The three young ladies who came to help us cut trees down were a delight and really hard workers.”  

The students also had a great day. Tim, from Otago, said: “It was one of the highlights of the summer clerk programme for me, a great experience.”  Another commented: “It was great that we could help them in such a small way, it meant a lot.”