Dunedin and Oamaru Farmer's Stores raise over $30,000 for local Hospice.

More than $759,000 was raised in the nation-wide Farmers Campaign towards the end of 2019. This is the sixth year that Farmers has raised funds for hospice and to date has generated more than $4.2M to help keep services free of charge.

One of the unique elements of this fundraising is that 100% of funds raised in each community stay in that community to support the local hospice service. The iconic annual bauble produced by Farmers exclusively for hospice was once again in high demand. Nearly 15,000 of the hand painted collectable baubles “Ngaru” by Spencer Bellas were sold, contributing a significant sum to the final total.

For the people of Otago, the donation of $31,837.26 will enable Otago Community Hospice to continue to develop its community outreach work, specifically the roll out of the Kowhai at Home programme which supports carers with education around patient care in their own home.

“Not only did the team at Farmers embrace raising funds for our Hospice, they also worked as ambassadors for our services, helping the community to better understand the work we do. The awareness raising that comes from being involved with Farmers is invaluable. The enthusiasm and commitment from all staff, and the people of Dunedin and Oamaru, has contributed to this amazing result, thank you so much,” said Ginny Green, Otago Community Hospice CEO.

“Farmers have recognised that their staff and customers really want to support people in their own communities living with a life limiting condition. Because of this focus, people know their donations stay local and will mean their community’s hospice is there free of charge for anyone who needs support,” explains Mary Schumacher, CEO, Hospice NZ.

“We can’t thank the Farmers team and their customers enough for their generosity towards hospice. To once again raise more than three quarters of a million dollars is incredible. I witnessed first-hand the depth of engagement between hospice and the Farmers team, they are working so hard to raise not only funds but also awareness of the work we do, this has huge value also,” said Ms Schumacher.

Michael Power, Chief Financial Officer of Farmers says: “At Farmers we are extremely proud of the amount raised during our Christmas hospice campaign through a combined effort and generous donations made by our customers, our staff, and our business. Farmers has been at the heart of New Zealand communities for 110 years. We are delighted to make a positive difference in our communities through our long-standing relationship with Hospice.”