The Maxine Van Der Velden Charitable Trust.
Nineteen-year-old Maxine Van Der Velden was in her first year of university when she died in a tragic hit-and-run car accident.Maxine was a Mt Eden local; her parents own the European furniture business, Tesori, in the Mt Eden Village, and Maxine worked part time in Mt Eden's City Cake Company.
Secretary of the Mt Eden Village Mainstreet Business Association Claire Siddens recalled that Maxine was well known by a large amount of the community.When Maxine died it really hit the village hard.
Especially because she was so young," she said.
On hearing the heartbreaking news, the business association immediately got to thinking about how the village could honour Maxine's memory. "We first thought about planting a tree for her but then we decided that we wanted something with a bit more legacy to it," said Claire. "So our association chair Gordon Johns and I suggested that we start up a charitable trust."
Claire worked out that the business association could back the trust financially through the money made from their community events. Knowing that the trust would have an income, Maureen Keene, who was Maxine's boss at the City Cake Company, and Claire, played on the idea of a charitable trust. They decided that since Maxine was in her first year of university when she died, that giving away scholarships to young Aucklanders needing financial assistance with their studies would be the perfect way to reflect Maxine's spirit.
When approached with the suggestion, Maxine's parents Wilhelmina and Jan Van Der Velden were flattered by the association's idea. "I was surprised when they told me," said Jan. "But I was very impressed with their idea, because it's more than just planting a tree. It's an ongoing thing."
The business association then engaged with Auckland University of Technology's pro bono public relations organisation, 'Outside the Square', to help them publicize the trust and get it off the ground. With the help of the five AUT public relations students the business association was able to work out the finer details of the trust. "We decided that we wanted to give out a number of scholarships a year, not just one," said Claire. "We also agreed they would be for something that the students couldn't get funding for elsewhere, like a camp, a musical instrument or anything really". They also determined that they would have Maxine's parents and a close friend of hers on the selection committee, as well as past receivers of the scholarship.
"We liked this idea because I think young people recognize other talented young people," said Pip Hansen, one of the AUT students. A further idea was that as another source of income for the trust, they could start a 'Friends of Maxine'. This would be an opportunity for people who wished to support the trust and its activities to make a monthly donation.The Maxine Van Der Velden Charitable Trust was launched on Saturday, November 11 2006, and as a result of this event, over $4000 was raised for the trust in donations.
"Maxine was a very special girl, she was very unique," said Maureen.
"For her, we're making this special."
To print the application form click here.
