Our Story
The Jassy Dean Trust is a voluntary community organisation. Our purpose is to support Waiheke tamariki with their health and wellbeing needs. And our vision is to empower Waiheke families, and our wider community, with resources to improve the health and wellbeing of our tamariki.
Jassy Dean
The Jassy Dean Trust was born out of gratitude for the love and support the Dean family received from the Waiheke community when their teenage daughter, Jassy, was stricken with Meningococcal Meningitis and died.
The Jassy Dean Trust was formed in 1993 as a celebration of Jassy’s life and a way to reciprocate the support the Dean family received from the community.
The Trust has grown into a local community charity, helping hundreds of Waiheke families with financial assistance where a child has had an accident, illness or disability. The Trust also provides ongoing support to families for their medical and health needs.
The Jassy Dean Garden Safari - which is now called the Jassy Dean Waiheke Garden Festival - was created by the Trust and has been our major fundraising event for 20 years. Many have been involved in this iconic event either by generously opening their gardens, volunteering to run the event, sponsoring or by attending this much loved event.
We are grateful for the tremendous support we have from the Waiheke Island community. In this passionate and caring community many people have contributed by volunteering and attending our events, donating funds and sharing our story so that those in need can access the help they need.
We have a group of caring and dedicated Trustees in service to our community by overseeing the work of the Jassy Dean Trust. Over the years many Waiheke Islanders have served as Trustees and we are grateful for their support.
Find out about our current trustees here.
Trustees and fundraising committee 2022
Watch the Jassy Dean Trust story
Some of the stories of the Jassy Dean Trust are illustrated in this 2020 video by Jake Legge.