The Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter crew attempt a rooftop rescue of a woman and child in Esk Valley during Cyclone Gabrielle. Video /
Hawke's Bay Rescue Helicopter Trust
Andrea Robinson is the proud new owner of a 2023 Mustang Mach-E GT worth $125,000 after winning the Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter car lottery that she secretly entered.
The second-year EIT nursing student said she bought the ticket as she wanted to show her support for the rescue organisation after needing the service herself 22 years earlier.
Robinson had discussed entering the competition with her husband, and they decided not to, but after seeing it advertised in the last week of the competition she decided to enter and not tell him.
Andrea Robinson bought a last-minute ticket and it won her a Mustang.
She received a phone call three days after buying the ticket and she had thought they were calling to say there had been a payment issue.
“It just went through my mind, maybe I haven’t entered properly, and that I had missed something or the payment hadn’t gone through,” she said.
Robinson has a special connection to the free helicopter service as she had been rescued from her rural property east of Dannevirke after she fell off her horse while riding.
Each helicopter rescue mission run by Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter costs an average of $7500 and makes hundreds of rescues a year in Hawke’s Bay.
“It’s hugely important to support them especially when you are rural because I know what it is like,” she said.
“I saw the raffle and I thought, yeah that is a car, I didn’t take much notice of what it was. It had four wheels and a steering wheel and was bright blue,” she said.
It was a big week for the Robinson family as not only did they win the car, but her son had received his helicopter licence and her daughter had recently earned her learner’s licence.
Funds raised by the raffle will support the Hawke's Bay Rescue Helicopter Trust to continue to provide the life-saving service.
“She is eyeing up the car, but she won’t be going anywhere near it,” she said
Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter Trust marketing and fundraising manager Amber McArthur said the money fundraised will assist the life-saving service to continue to provide urgent air and medical care 24 hours a day.
“We are so thankful for the support we receive from the Hawke’s Bay community so when brainstorming our latest fundraiser, the car lottery project was the best of both worlds, raising funds for our service but also making one lucky person’s day by calling to say they had won this amazing car,” she said.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
