The inaugural Take Flight Spring Fling held on 29 September in Martinborough was a tremendous success with $21,000 raised for The Life Flight Trust. The cheque for the amount was presented to the Chief Executive of Life Flight Trust at the Village Cafe.
The fundraising was spearheaded by a local grandmother Janice Hutchings whose grandson has been airlifted on numerous occasions. Jan’s daughter Jacqui Morland says “Our son would not be alive if it we did not have this vital service. We are so thankful for the work Life Flight undertake for our community and to everyone who helped make our event a success”.
The dinner was a hit with locals who were treated to a fabulous evening of live entertainment, delicious food and local wines. With a short lead in time the group agreed that all costs should be minimal so that as much of the ticket price for the dinner would go to Life Flight. A key success factor was the donations of goods and services from the community to ensure the donated dollar was able to go to Life Flight.
The funds raised were boosted by a cheque from the proceeds of the Harvest Lunch Martinborough Committee. Minimal costs were incurred due to the contribution of a number of guests from the McLeod group who made a donation over and above their ticket price. A raffle for a playhouse donated by Pain & Kershaw Mitre 10 rose over $2,000.
An auction on the night was a winner with guests showing their generosity to boost the funds raised.
The Village Café sponsored the dinner and guests were impressed with the exceptionally high standard of gourmet food. Local willing volunteers served the food for the evening.
Contributing to the success of the event was the design work undertaken by Wellington NatColl design student Mariam Abubakar who did all the promotional materials for free.
Life Flight Trust helps approximately 1,500 people every year. Life Flight provide the Wellington-based Westpac Rescue Helicopter which ensures that rescues can be achieved when people are out tramping, boating or in road accidents. It is a crucial life-saving tool when speed is critical or access is challenging. Even in the short time since the fund raising events there have been five incidences where the Life Flight Trust Helicopter has been dispatched to the Martinborough region. Life Flight relies on approximately $2,500 from the community for every mission flown. The organizers are delighted that funds raised will meet the costs of over eight trips.
