Community spirit alive and well
Amanda Garmonsway gathers her skeleton crew around to discuss preparationsR for Halloween later this year. Photo: Dan Hutchinson
Amanda Garmonsway has quite a few skeletons in the closet but that’s only part of the story.
By Dan Hutchinson
Terrifying memorabilia aside – all part of a Halloween display that draws hundreds to her home each year – Amanda provides a place of comfort for young and old.
She is arguably one of the most generous people in Taupō and, while she prefers to stay in the shadows, her recent nomination for the Harcourts Good Sort Award has shone the light on her numerous good deeds.
Her home and backyard on Pihanga St in central Taupō is a safe haven for children that need a place to go when their parents can’t cope.
When Taupō & Tūrangi News caught up with her, she had six people living there – none of whom are her own family and three of which are over 70 years old and with nowhere else to live.
"I just take in troubled kids, ones that are struggling at home. I just have them around home and give them a safe space to come to."
She also provides respite care for parents of special needs children and maintains connections with former foster children.
"I've got a few foster kids that still come back and see me because it's their safe house when they're struggling.”
She has taught 15 young people how to drive and helped them get their licence.
A former Child Youth and Family Services worker, nowadays Amanda does everything completely for free, funding it all through her stall at local markets, selling oils with natural healing properties.
And her generosity of spirit extends past the living.
She co-founded the Taupō Rocks movement with her sister, painting more than 7,000 decorated stones. Along with others – young and old – who paint stones and leave them wherever they go for others to find, the movement has grown into a fun hobby for thousands of people all over the world.
For the past few years, she has amassed a large collection of skeletons, ghoulish beings, cobwebs and other spooky stuff which she rolls out for a genuinely scary Halloween night experience that is open to the community, also free of charge.
Last year she prepared 500 Lolly bags, and they were all taken away by the end of the night. Local children help with spooky tricks as people wander through the Halloween setting.
The display has grown from a small neighbourhood event in 2020 to a major community attraction.
This year, she plans to convert her backyard into a creepy maze and is coordinating efforts with other households to create a Halloween trail throughout Taupō.
There are about five households involved with displays around town.
Amanda can’t help herself when it comes to helping others and often partakes in random acts of kindness. She recently paid for petrol to help a father and daughter living in their car get back home.
She regularly chases stray dogs around Taupō to reunite them with owners.
All this is funded by selling natural oils and remedies at local markets.
After her sister died a few years, she kayaked around lake Taupō. She uses those proceeds to fund special gifts for children who have lost a parent.
"When kids lose their Mum or their Dad, they don't have anything for them. So, we started giving out Pandora bracelets and little greenstones to the boys just as a thing from their parents."
Amanda doesn’t seek the spotlight and doesn’t even take credit for her own compassion – that’s inherited.
"My mum's like this. I just can't say no. See somebody [that] needs help, I give them a hand."
Her husband supports the constant stream of people through their home, though he has requested limits on teenage residents.
"He asked me not to take on any more teenagers, so I said ‘yes, sweet as’. And all of a sudden I've got three," she chuckles.