Previously, Hospice EBOP has been known for large fundraising events such as Sunshine and a Plate and Take Flight with Hospice. With the arrival of Covid, these fundraising events could no longer exist. Like every other charity in the New Zealand, Hospice EBOP had to adapt and for a while our large fundraising events must be put on hold.
Luckily, our Hospice shops can stay open during the traffic light settings, with extra safety measures put in place. These shops are an integral part of our fundraising. In late 2021, the Kawerau shop was opened and the Opotiki shop moved to a new premises. The new Opotiki shop is now twice as big as the old one and it now offers a larger range of furniture for sale. The popularity of the Whakatane shop has continued to grow throughout the past 2 years. These shops are a vehicle for providing the funds Hospice EBOP requires to continue to provide our free palliative care service. With the generous donations from our community and the army of volunteers donating their time to work in the shop, we are able to maximize the profits from the shops and all the profits stay in the Eastern Bay of Plenty community.
Hospice EBOP is very lucky that community groups support us throughout the year with donations. In November 2021, the Whakatane Bowling Club presented a cheque for $1800 to Hospice EBOP which was the proceeds from their Twilight Bowls Teams tournament.
In December 2021, BNI Whakatane presented a cheque for $500. With Hospice EBOP being their chosen charity to receive their annual donation.
Also in December 2021, the annual Remembrance Tree and Christmas Bauble Appeal, in conjunction with Farmers, raised $6,724. Our Hospice volunteers also ran two community Remembrance Trees, one in Whakatane and one in Kawerau, as well as a raffle for two food hampers that were kindly donated by New World Whakatane and New World Kawerau. This effort raised a total sum of $1800.
In April 2022, the Opotiki Golf Club have planned an Ambrose Golf Tournament. This is a yearly event, run by Hospice Volunteers and is generously supported by local Opotiki and Whakatane businesses and individuals.
While the bulk of our funding comes from the BOPDHB, we do also heavily rely on grants and fundraising to fill the shortfall between our operating costs and funding from the BOPDHB.
While the landscape for 2022 is still unfolding, it’s uncertain how our fundraising efforts will evolve, but one thing we can be certain of is that our community is still supporting us and for that we are extremely grateful.
