The Otago Community Hospice is asking people to consider supporting it with donations after the organisation had to cancel its annual street appeal when New Zealand moved to alert level two on Saturday (February 27).

The street appeal, which typically raises around $35,000 for the organisation each year, is possible because of the time given by nearly 500 volunteers around the Otago region.

“Given the situation, we felt that it was important we keep our volunteers and our community safe, and that means not having our volunteers and collection buckets on the streets and in the supermarkets,” Hospice CEO Ginny Green said. “It’s just not possible to maintain solid social distancing in this situation.”

“Obviously, it’s gutting to have to pull the plug, but we know that our community will rally to support us in other ways. We are asking those who might typically put money in the bucket to consider donating via our website,” she said.

The Otago Community Hospice supports people with terminal illness to live and die well. The hospice provides specialist palliative care services - free of charge - to around 750 people across the Otago region each year. 

The organisation’s multidisciplinary team includes community care coordinators, palliative specialist doctors, counsellors, social workers, and spiritual care coordinators, who work closely with GPs, hospitals, aged care facilities and the team of district nurses, to deliver the full range of palliative care services. More than 75 per cent of hospice patients are cared for in their home. 

Part-funded by a DHB contract, each year the hospice has to raise $2.5 million – to maintain its free wrap-around service.

“I want to extend our thanks to all those volunteers who put their hands up to collect, and we look forward to 2022 when hopefully we will be in the clear to run the street appeal,” Ginny said.