Courier with a cause

Jolene O'Connor is bound for Africa, and she's come up with a novel way to raise money for her worthy effort. Joseph Barratt reports
If you have ever received a delivery from cycle courier Jolene O'Connor, you would probably know.
She is determined to go home to Africa to aid its stricken people. To raise money for the trip she has accosted hundreds of people with her question: "Do you know anyone famous that could help support it?" Ms O'Connor aims to hold an auction of celebrity goods to fund her move and she won't take no for an answer.
"I do feel like a bit of a dork going up to randoms, asking if they know someone famous but, if that's what it takes, I'll do it."
So far, she has had donations to the cause from a number of New Zealand celebrities, from Michael Jones to Sarah Ulmer and even a signed T-shirt from the All Blacks. The T-shirt is signed by all the members of the All Blacks and was a difficult item to get, says the South African-born Ms O'Connor.
Normally, a request through the team's marketing people would have to be officially approved and so forth, but her persistence prevailed.
When trying to pin down people who are "generally supportive when you first tell them, but when it comes down to it are slow at responding" she turns up at their offices using the excuse of a delivery to get access to them. But as she says: "It's all for a good cause."
That cause is a small village in Tanzania. There, Ms O'Connor plans to spend eight months working on a community health programme, such as making people more aware of life-threatening diseases like HIV/ Aids. But it will not be a short-term mission.
"I don't plan on this just being a simple trip over there and then come back.
"This is the sort of work I want to do with my life." Despite collecting a range of items from celebrities, including a $1600 necklace that she is selling raffle tickets for, fundraising has been slow.
She is travelling to Tanzania through SPW - a development agency that trains people as community educators addressing urgent health matters, education, and environmental issues.
www.fundraiseonline.com.au/joleneoconnor