Money and vital health equipment from Whangārei Lions Club’s charity fundraisers

Some of the Northland MS team volunteering at the Whangārei Lions Club’s Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the Northland Golf Club. The event raised $16,000 for charity.

Whangārei Lions Club has delivered money and a vital piece of health equipment to charities after recent fundraising efforts.

The club held its 29th Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the Northland Golf Club and recognised the memory and support from past member and stalwart Greig Tapper.

The day raised $16,000 and the club has donated $8000 each to the Northland multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s societies. The club has raised about $300,000 to support charities over the years from the annual event.

Several participants have entered every tournament since its inception 30 years ago.

Many businesses support this corporate-type tournament by entering a team, sponsoring a hole, or supplying something towards the lavish prize table and auction. The main item, which was arranged by Tapper’s daughter Amy, was a fantastic golf package at Cape Kidnappers Golf course that raised $2400.

Terry Ward said the Lions club was extremely grateful to sponsors because many institutions are relying heavily on generous community support to continue their services and meet growing demand.

Northland MS Society thanked the club for selecting it as one of the recipients of the golf tournament, saying it was made more special with it being in memory of Tapper.

“He would have been so proud of your efforts and the number of teams and sponsors who participated this year — although I can sort of picture him looking down also saying “no, we don’t do it that way” — it was after all his ‘baby’ for so long,” treasurer Wende Quin said.

“On behalf of the committee and members of Northland MS Society we are very grateful for your support of our organisation and will put this generous donation to good use supporting those living with MS in Northland.”

The lifting chair donated to Hato Hone St John by Whangārei Lions Club was bought with proceeds from its Fireworks Spectacular last year.

And the Lions club recently bought a Camel Airflow24 special lifting chair for Hato Hone St John. This chair, which cost $6550, will help frontline teams when dealing with mobility-challenged patients.

The chair was bought with proceeds from the Lions club’s Fireworks Spectacular public fireworks display in November.

Wally Mitchell, Hato Hone St John area operations manager, gave Lions club members a personal display of how the chair works. He said the chair would be of huge benefit to ambulance officers when lifting and helping patients.

The transition to these chairs from older ones is a big expense that is not included in their budget, so they must rely on donations to purchase such equipment.