Largest national fundraiser for hospice - ever!

Largest national fundraiser for hospice - ever!

For immediate release

Today more than $600,000 has been donated to hospice services throughout the country as a result of the newly established relationship with Farmers Trading Company called Caring Connections in Our Community.

In the four weeks leading up to Christmas each of the 56 Farmers stores hosted a Tree of Remembrance and asked customers to make a donation to support their local hospice service.

The final total announced today of $610,791 has amazed the team at Hospice NZ and Farmers.

“We are absolutely overwhelmed by the way Farmers staff and customers have embraced this campaign to support hospice. Who could have predicted such phenomenal success for the first year of this relationship” commented Mary Schumacher, CEO Hospice NZ.

As well as raising funds the campaign was also about raising awareness for hospice services.

Farmers Managing Director and CEO Rod McDermott says “As a business we were able to provide a channel for hospices to talk to communities, enabling them to share information about their services, raise awareness and funds. Financial support from the community is essential for hospices throughout the country, we are very thankful to our local communities across New Zealand who have given so generously to this worthy cause’.

A unique feature of the relationship is that all donations will stay within the community in which they were raised, supporting local hospice services to remain free of charge.

Despite being the busiest time of year Farmers staff took time to ask customers to support hospice, finding the experience rewarding and often humbling seeing the generosity to support the work of hospice.

“We would like to thank Farmers staff for the amount of work they put into this fundraising campaign and also to Farmers customers for their generosity and support they’ve shown for their local hospice service.” Said Mary Schumacher.

Total raised for each hospice:

Arohanui Hospice – Palmerston North $23,123.72

Cranford Hospice – Hawkes Bay $14,077.39

Far North Community Hospice – Kaitaia $2,062.96

Franklin Hospice – Pukekohe $9,026.66

Hibiscus Hospice – Whangaparoa $6,711.25

Hospice Eastern Bay of Plenty – Whakatane $9, 074.73

Hospice Marlborough $14,621.96

Hospice North Shore $50,413.85

Hospice Rotorua $16,680.55

Hospice South Canterbury $16,039.63

Hospice Southland $18,197.61

Hospice Tairawhiti - Gisborne $5,757.48

Hospice Taranaki $13,411.07

Hospice Waikato $46,675.60

Hospice Wairarapa $8,646.35

Hospice Wanganui $8,452.96

Hospice West Auckland $23,123.16

Lake Taupo Hospice $10,533.40

Mary Potter Hospice - Wellington $54,336.18

Mercy Hospice Auckland $47,885.69

Nelson Tasman Hospice $14,327.89

North Haven Hospice - Whangarei $6,810.68

Nurse Maude Hospice – Christchurch $65,768.88

Otago Community Hospice $32,041.40

Te Omanga Hospice – Lower Hutt $37,688.91

Totara Hospice South Auckland $28,067.20

Waipuna Hospice – Tauranga $27,204.01

Total $610,791.19

About hospice

Each year the 29 hospice services throughout the country provided care and support for more than 15,600 people living with a life limiting condition.

Hospice is a philosophy of care, not a building – most people are cared for in the community – last year hospice staff made more than 152,000 visits to people in their homes.

The concept of care encompasses the whole person. Not just their physical needs, but their emotional, spiritual, and social needs as well. This care extends beyond the person who is unwell to also include their family; support is available both before and after a death.

Irrespective of where a person lives, this philosophy of care does not change and everything provided is free of charge. Whilst free to people using hospice services, it does cost a lot to provide. In 2014 it cost almost $100M nationally.

As an essential health service provider, hospice services receive the majority of funding from the Government; but financial support from the community is essential to meet the shortfall – each year hospice services need to fundraise more than $40M nationally.

As an organisation hospice is firmly grounded in the community, with more than 11,000 people volunteering more than 980,000 hours of their time for hospice each year.

www.hospice.org.nz

About Farmers

As the country’s foremost department store, The Farmers Trading Company has been outfitting New Zealand women, their families and their homes for more than 100 years.

First established by Robert Laidlaw as a catalogue mail order company in 1909, Farmers is now a thriving, modern department store and New Zealand’s leading fashion and home retailer - combining quality and value with an ever-increasing selection of the best local and international brands.

Proudly New Zealand owned, Farmers operates 56 department stores in rural and city locations around the country, providing shoppers with a wide range of women's, men's and children's fashion, health & beauty, homewares, manchester, appliances, electronics and furniture.

www.farmers.co.nz

© Scoop Media