Following StarJam’s unexpected closure, the Canterbury community is rallying to save an end-of-year Christmas concert for children with disabilities.

The concert, a much-anticipated event for StarJam performers from across the region, was abruptly cancelled last week when StarJam Charitable Trust announced it had entered liquidation.

The charity went into liquidation on November 6, leaving its workshops and planned events in jeopardy.

In a statement released last week, the charity said “For over 20 years, StarJam has been a place of joy, community, and confidence-building for young people with disabilities across New Zealand. Our free workshops and events have brought smiles, self-expression, and connection to thousands of Jammers and their whānau. However, despite our best efforts to reduce costs, diversify revenue, and seek additional funding, we have faced significant financial challenges. Rising operational expenses and limited funding options have made it impossible for us to continue our work.”

Despite the setback, Ashburton volunteer Nicola Algie is hopeful the community can step up to save the concert. “We’re kind of in limbo, not really knowing how to go forward as a group,” Algie said. “We have 13 workshops across Canterbury, which affect over 125 kids and their families. We’re all trying with our own workshops to find a way forward, but we’re reaching out to the community because we need help rehiring venues. We’re no longer under an umbrella charity, so we have no funds except our own personal money.”

The Christmas concert, originally scheduled for November 30 at Christchurch’s La Vida Centre, has become the volunteers’ primary focus.

“This concert is such a big event for the kids. They look forward to it every single year. We’ve been planning for months, working on dances to show families what they can do. It’s our main goal to give them this last hurrah.”

The La Vida Centre has been supportive, keeping the venue on hold while the group works to secure liability insurance.  “Hopefully, I can get an answer on that soon. I’ve got a couple of insurance brokers working with me to see if we can make it happen.”

The closure of StarJam has been a major blow to the young people and families involved. “It’s devastating. StarJam helped kids with disabilities come together weekly, where they could hang out, be one big family, and showcase their abilities,” Algie said. “They’re absolutely normal kids to us, and it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience. I’ve been doing it for three years, and to see it just go is heartbreaking.”

While the reasons behind StarJam’s liquidation remain unclear, Algie suspects financial difficulties played a role. “Good question—I wish I knew exactly why,” she said. “I believe it’s down to money, unfortunately. We were all doing our own fundraising locally, trying to get as much as we could into StarJam. But I think the larger funding sources may not have come through. We were all putting in the effort, but maybe it just wasn’t enough.”

Despite the challenges, Algie’s faith in the community has been bolstered by their overwhelming response to her call for help on Facebook.

“The community has been incredible,” she said. “I put it up there and thought, ‘Let’s just see the power of Facebook.’ And the response has been absolutely overwhelming. We’ve had so many messages, people offering support, venues, even donations.”

Offers of help have come from local churches, theatres, and other organisations. “We’ve had people offering their churches, a theatre offered us their space, and Vicky from another Christchurch charity, NZ Gifts of Love and Strength, reached out. She’s been a massive help and actually got the ball rolling by connecting us with Brett Anderson, the CEO of Christchurch Casino,” Algie shared. “I’m so thankful to her for putting us in the right direction.” The casino has offered to pay for the venue so the concert can still go ahead.

While the concert is the immediate focus, Algie and other volunteers are also working on long-term solutions to keep workshops running across the region.

“The church in Ashburton has been so generous; they’ve offered us their space free of charge until the end of the year, which is incredible,” Algie said. “Next year, we may need parents to chip in a small amount to cover hire costs, or perhaps look for community sponsorship. These are things we’re working through.”

However, Algie said there was also a strong need in Christchurch, where there are 12 additional workshops that urgently require support. “We’re okay in Ashburton for now, but it’s Christchurch that really needs the backing. We need the community to help keep these workshops going,” she said.

In the end, Algie’s motivation comes from wanting to protect the children who have found joy and friendship through StarJam.

“These kids have no idea what the bigger outside world has unfortunately thrown at them, and we need to protect them as much as we can,” she said. “Our main thing is just to get this venue up and running for the concert. Going forward, donations would be wonderful, but we need to be careful how we accept them since we’re technically not under a charity anymore. Ideally, anyone in the community wanting to help could pay the venue directly, which would mean so much.”

With the community behind them, Algie remains hopeful that the concert will take place, giving the children the memorable celebration they’ve looked forward to all year.

“The community has been epic—beyond words amazing,” she said. “We’re doing everything we can to ensure these kids continue to have a place to connect, to be joyful, and to be part of a big family.”