Hospices throughout the country have once again been overwhelmed and humbled by the support from Farmers Department Stores and their customers in the lead up to Christmas. More than $908,000 was donated from the Farmers Christmas Charity Campaign towards the end of 2021. This is the eighth year that Farmers has raised funds for hospice and to date around $6M has been donated 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 collectable baubles “Togetherness” were sold, contributing a significant sum to the final total.
“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 hospice is there free of charge for anyone who needs support.” Explains Wayne Naylor, Acting CEO, Hospice NZ.
For the people of Wellington, Porirua and Kāpiti the donation of $76,845 will enable Mary Potter Hospice to continue to provide our specialist palliative care free-of-charge for people in our local communities.
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 Wellington, Porirua and Kāpiti has contributed to this amazing result – thank you so much.
“We can’t thank the Farmers team and their customers enough for their generosity towards hospice. Raising over $900,000 is incredible, especially during a year where many felt the significant impact of COVID-19. We have been blown away by the support of Farmers staff and the community.” Said Mr Naylor.
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 over 110 years. We are delighted to make a positive difference in our communities through our long-standing relationship with Hospice.