Over sixty people braved the weather to take part in the First Annual BNI Trivial Pursuit Fundraiser, held at the Normanby Hotel last week.
Organised by BNI Newton, the event marked the beginning of Hospice Awareness Week and through entry fees, a silent auction and raffle,
managed to raise just over $1,000 for Dove Hospice (formerly Eastern Bays Hospice).
It was a great networking opportunity for BNI chapters which directly support Dove Hospice. Teams of members, friends and family from BNI Newton, BNI Ellerslie Penrose, BNI Epsom and Dove Hospice attended the entertaining, prize studded night. BNI Epsom’s Brad Jones’ winning team received Konstruct T-shirts and several happy people took home some impressive auction items, mostly sourced from Dove Hospice Shops.
TVNZ’s Nothing Trivial quizmaster himself, Aaron Ward, kept things moving and the crowd entertained. An enthusiastic ambassador for Dove Hospice, Aaron was quick to sign up to support their latest campaign, “We want the shirt off your back!”, a promotion to raise funds and awareness for Dove Hospice Shops which was announced at the event on Monday night.
“It’s still in the planning stages, but it involves celebrities, shirts, donations and auctions – and promises to be a lot of fun!” says Julie McCarthy, executive director of Dove Hospice.
“Our six retail stores are a crucial source of revenue to keep our Dove House facilities operating. We need to build this side of the business and the first thing to do is to get some attention. I think this campaign will do that and raise money at the same time,” she says.
BNI Newton members have taken up the challenge with over 50% of their members donating clothes and household goods to the Dove Hospice Shops in the last two weeks.
For more information contact Julie McCarthy, Executive Director Dove Hospice – Tel: 09 575 4555 M: 027 249 2117.
