Long-serving Life Unlimited chair John Dobson remembers selling roses on a windswept Victoria Street in the organisation’s early days, and realising things needed to change.
Since then the organisation has become more businesslike and extended its reach throughout New Zealand, providing services for people with disabilities.
Life Unlimited Charitable Trust marked its 40th birthday in July with more than two thirds of its staff attending a two-day in-service programme at Hamilton Airport’s Hotel Jet Park.
Dobson has been a trustee since the organisation’s inception as the Disabled Living Centre (Waikato) Trust in 1979, and became chair in 1991.
He told attendees the organisation was founded when three charities looking after various parts of the disability sector decided they needed to work more closely together. That goal proved elusive and the organisation turned to identifying gaps.
“It wasn’t about repeating what’s been done; as long as it’s being done well by someone out there and servicing a need we didn’t have to be there. So we started off, we ran the total mobility system around Hamilton with vans as taxis with ramps on the back, so we ran that until the taxis took it over, and we got out of it.
“That to me is one of the philosophies that has remained with us: don’t do it if you don’t have to, but if there’s a need let’s get in there, identify it and make a good job of it.”
Life Unlimited building shortly after completion.
The approach saw them pick up Hearing Therapy services. “There was a need there; the organisation that was running at the time had got into a little bit of strife,” he said. “The beauty of that service is strategically it gave us a footprint across New Zealand, and it’s been the springboard for a number of other services we’ve been able to successfully provide.”
That kind of business acumen has driven the organisation, with a step shift coming when they realised street bucket collections weren’t going to be sufficient.
“I remember selling roses in Victoria St every year, and the wind would be whistling up bloody Victoria St and you’d be begging people to put some money in a bucket. We soon realised we weren’t going to make a difference if we followed that philosophy. So we became more businesslike.”
The organisation made an important appointment, Adri Isbister as chief executive.
“Adri was a young woman who came to us with no experience, an absolutely amazing person. We took a punt on her, and we said, we want to make this self-sustaining, go away and get us some income-earning businesses, which we’ve done.”
The name was changed to Life Unlimited in 1997 to reflect the wider scope of services provided.
In 2006, Life Unlimited won the Westpac Waikato Business of the Year award. Dobson remembered looking at the graph they put in with their application, showing their revenue growing over six years from about $300,000 to $6 million, and profitability also increasing. “We spent every damn cent of that money on good causes, which is great.”
It’s been a long journey since the organisation got its start in a house rented off council for $40 a week. “You would have a board meeting in the back and if you dropped a marble on the floor as you got up from the table it would beat you to the front door. it was a shocking building, but it pulled us all together and gave us a home.
“We’ve got a lot more businesslike about the way we do things and I don’t think that’s bad. We’ve got to be careful that we’re still a caring organisation. it’s all very well to be businesslike but if you forget about people you’ve lost your plot. The people are at all levels, they are our customers, they are our funders, and more importantly our people within the organisation.”
As a not for profit organisation Life Unlimited’s responsibility is to people who access its services which includes:
· Needs assessment service coordination in the Hutt Valley and Gisborne.
· Free and independent national Hearing Therapy services.
· Disability and autism information and advice.
· Waikato community programmes for people with disabilities.
· An extensive range of products through its Mobility Centre stores in Lower Hutt, Hamilton, Tauranga, Gisborne and Rotorua.
“What underpins it for me is the word ‘equality’.” Dobson said. “I think everyone should have the same opportunities in this society and that’s what we’ve got to work to.”
