The Upper Clutha Hospice Trust Board (UCHTB) is handing the keys for its two Wānaka second-hand stores to the Otago Community Hospice (OCH).

From next month, money raised from the Brownston Street hospice shop and the warehouse shop on Gordon Road will go towards local OCH services, UCHTB chair Russell McGeorge said.

“Our trust is very happy to be further integrating its work with that of the OCH by passing on our retailing operation to the OCH to directly fund the OCH’s services in the Upper Clutha,” he said.

The UCHTB was formed in 2013 to support the creation of a palliative care suite in Wānaka and the shops were later opened to help fund its set-up and ongoing costs.

The change of hands will not mean any change to the services either organisation offers in the Upper Clutha, Russell confirmed.

The UCHTB will continue to fund the Stina Mooyman Palliative and Respite Care Suite and support patients in the community in difficult financial circumstances.

The suite has received exceptional community support since its inception and has built up “significant financial reserves”, Russell said.

OCH, which is the hospice provider throughout Otago, will continue to deliver the full range of specialist palliative care services to patients experiencing complex symptoms in the Upper Clutha area.

Around half of its services are government-funded and the other half come from donations and CEO Ginny Green said the OCH was grateful to the UCHTB for its ongoing support. 

“We are extremely grateful for the financial support we have received annually over the years from both the UCHT and the community at large - and are very excited about working with the incredible shop team in Wānaka,” she said.

The changeover coincides with Hospice Awareness Week, which helps the OCH raise money so it can continue to offer its free services to everyone in the region.

Learn more or donate here.

PHOTO: Supplied