Floyds looks confidently ahead

Media Release

March 23, 2010

Floyds looks confidently ahead

The future for Floyds Creative Arts is looking decidedly brighter after the La Famia Foundation purchased the intellectual property of Floyds in late February for $130,000.

As part of this creative approach, La Famia has licensed that same property back to Floyds as a La Famia Partner for the Canterbury region.

This income, in addition to the recently renewed annual contract with the Ministry of Social Development, has meant other government funders are following suit, such as the CDHB and the Christchurch City Council. Include the ongoing cost savings effort undertaken by Floyds, and the fortunes of this revered and long-standing community service are dramatically turned around.

Harmon Wilfred, the newly appointed chairman of Floyds Creative Arts and also Managing Trustee of La Famia, was introduced to the Floyds opportunity by Christchurch MP Nicky Wagner in late December with an urgent request for assistance.

“Upon investigating the organisation and meeting with the board, I came to the conclusion that Floyds is such a wonderful community service that it must not only survive, but also be developed as a model for other centres throughout New Zealand.

“Floyds fits well with La Famia’s primary objective of providing accountable and sustainable community sourced and based family support programmes. As a registered charitable trust, La Famia’s partnership goal with family businesses and other Non Government Organizations is to achieve a self sustaining balance between charitable funding, government contracts and business opportunities derived from the intellectual property of each organisation.

“With Floyds’ unique approach to mental health through the creative world of arts and crafts, there is tremendous potential on all fronts,” he said.

Floyds’ mission is to further the Christchurch community’s creative endeavors by providing access to creative arts development opportunities and/or resources in a supportive, integrated setting. The facility currently has over 2500 registered members on its books with hundreds of people per week utilising its services and gaining consistent results with many who have disabilities and mental health issues.

Last year was difficult financially for Floyds due to an attempt to expand its facilities scuttled by the unexpected harsh economic climate. As a result, the Ministry of Social Development set a financial ultimatum to raise $120,000 by the end of February in order to renew its annual contract. In fact, the La Famia contribution coupled with a concerted charitable drive, including gifts from dedicated Floyds’ supporters, has come through with commitments of over $150,000.

“Because the Ministry of Social Development had put Floyds on notice, it also meant that other government funders were cautious. However, with this new investment and the renewed commitment from MSD Minister Paula Bennett, the prospects for a sustainable financial future are promising.

“With the Minister’s renewed contract offer, MSD and Floyds have also set agreed targets that must be met over the next year. Accompanied by the La Famia partnership, the board of Floyds is confident that these goals will be met and surpassed.

“Floyds brings so much joy to so many people that not only are we determined to keep it as an integral part of the Christchurch community, but one day others around New Zealand will be introduced to this amazing approach to mental health,” Harmon Wilfred said.

ends

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