Children at Goldfields School will soon be able to bounce in style, thanks to a $20,000 donation of funds raised at the 2025 Bosty Bash black-tie fundraiser on June 28.
The fundraiser event, held by the Boston Rohrlach Memorial Trust at the Thames on Kirkwood, saw 100 people dressed their best to the theme of “elegant blue” as they enjoyed music, canapes, spot prizes and auctions.
The $20,000 raised at the event has been earmarked for a specially-designed in-ground wheelchair-capable trampoline for Goldfields School in Paeroa.
“It’s about inclusion for children with special needs,” fundraiser organiser Arna Rohrlach told The Profile.
“We just want these beautiful children to feel included and just have fun.”
The trust began running fundraisers in 2012 after Arna’s seven-year-old son, Boston, died.
“He had severe cerebral palsy, and he passed in February of 2011 from pneumonia after having an operation. That pretty much rocked our world obviously, and from 2012 we decided to do a fundraiser to raise money for the special children at Goldfields School,” Arna said.
“He’d been at Goldfields for two and a half years, and the support that the staff gave us during that time was incredible.
“It was like respite for parents with children with such high special needs. It was just an incredible place for them to go because you knew they were going to be so well looked after.”
The trust holds Bosty Bashes every two years, and has raised more than $100,000 for the school over the years.
The funds have contributed to specialist sensory equipment and an upgrade to the school’s swimming pool complex.
Arna said this year’s contribution of a trampoline will enable more children to participate in playground activities.
“It’s very close to our heart because obviously our boy was in a wheelchair, he couldn’t walk or talk, so we always really struggled with taking Boston to parks and things like that,” she said.
Boston’s specialist Gravity Chair, which is now used by the school, will also be reupholstered with proceeds from the fundraiser.
Arna is now looking ahead to the next Bosty Bash, in 2027, and said she was grateful to the businesses and individuals of Thames who continue to support the trust and its events.
“We’re very proud of our efforts – we’re feeling pretty lucky, pretty special,” she said.
“We want to continue doing what we do in memory of Boston and just raising money for special equipment for these beautiful children.”
