Sat, 05 Dec 2009 4:05p.m.
Part of Mark’s beat on Broadway is up for renewal, but retailers say there will always be a place for him
By Bob McNeil
Today is International Volunteer Day, when people who work for others and receive no pay are acknowledged.
A recent survey has shown that New Zealanders who do voluntary work have higher levels of life satisfaction than those who don’t.
For Mark Grantham, life is not what he would have liked it to be. He was born with cerebral palsy, which left him virtually paralysed from the neck down.
For the last 17 years, he has been voluntarily selling chocolate bars in Auckland’s Newmarket shopping precinct. He has become something of an identity in the area.
“He’s really well known and everybody loves him, cause he’s a part of Newmarket. He’s been here so long,” says retailer Hazel Moon. “He just draws people.”
Mark says he has sold about 20,000 chocolate bars, worth about $20,000, and the Newmarket community are making sure both mark and the money are safe.
“We’ve got a camera right across the road, so we zoom in and leave it locked on him throughout the day,” says Adam Wheeler of Newmarket Security. “All the pictures go up to the Newmarket police station and the camera operator is there just keeping an eye on him, making sure no one is mistreating him.”
Part of Mark’s beat on Broadway is up for renewal, but retailers say there will always be a place for him.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Cameron Brewer, of the Newmarket Retailers Association, told Mark. “One thing is for sure, you’re not allowed to go to Queen Street. They’ve got Santa – we’ve got you.”
Mark sponsors five foster children through World Vision in Tanzania and India. But he says the thing he’d like most would be to have his own children.
But for Mark, that is just a dream.
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