Bright idea helps hospice slash its bills

Bernie Burrell outside the patient cottage in Kerikeri. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Hospice Mid-Northland could soon be saving thousands on its power bill with a business community advertising campaign hoping to raise enough for 38 solar panels.

The Kerikeri-based hospice should save $8000-$9000 a year on costs, allowing it to plough more resources into palliative care.

The campaign - which will see businesses buy advertising space in exchange for a solar panel to donate to the hospice - has already proved popular. Brady Arkle of NZME. Radio has organised the campaign after talking to his contacts at Solar King Northland.

"I've been dealing with Solar King for a while and they offered a solar panel to use as a fundraiser," he said.

"I decided to do something for Hospice Mid-Northland as they do such a great job, thinking it will save them money that they can then use on their wonderful palliative care."

The campaign will see Mr Arkle arrange for a 38 businesses to advertise on The Hits and Newstalk ZB radio stations and the Northern Advocate and Northland Age.

The ad packages will cost $2000, but provide $2850 of advertising and see the advertisers' names put on a honour board outside the Hospice for a week.

Solar King will also install the panels on the hospice building at 464 Kerikeri Rd.

"It will give them free power for life and help them put more of their precious money into the outstanding work they do helping people and their families," he said.

"Every four panels provide one kilowatt of power, so this will be 9.5KW of power for them and should save $8000-$9000 a year."

Hospice Mid-Northland general manager Bernie Burrell said the campaign was a great way for the business community to support the charity, with all charities struggling to raise funds at the moment.

"All hospices are very strapped for income - and all charities are finding it hard competing for donations - and this is a unique and innovative fundraising idea," Ms Burrell said.

"In small communities such as ours, you have a lot of great charities so when a chance comes up like this to work with the local business community it's a great opportunity."

She said the solar panels would free up funds for palliative care and it was pleasing to see the business community was supportive.

Mr Arkle said he'd only started the campaign recently and already had several companies signed up.

He hopes in the future to extend the project to try to get solar panels installed in every hospice in the country.

Anybody wanting to take part in the campaign can contact Mr Arkle at brady.arkle@nzme.co.nz.

- Hospice Mid-Northland provides specialist palliative care for patients living in the mid-north from Taupo Bay in the north to Towai in the south and from coast to coast, including South Hokianga. This represents a population of about 40,000. It is one of 38 hospices affiliated to Hospice New Zealand.