The Cancer Society has cancelled its Daffodil Day collections this week but Northlanders can still make a donation to the cause.
Natasha Judd, Community fundraising co-ordinator for the Northland/Auckland region, said: ''In Northland last year we went ahead in a very limited capacity in Level 2 but the safety of our
volunteers and the public is paramount in these circumstances.''
She said the events will continue at a later date when it is safe to proceed, ''however we would ask that help to share our new campaign would be greatly appreciated as the street appeal is our biggest fundraiser of the year.''
Northlanders can still help by making an online donation on Daffodil Day on August 27 at www.daffodilday.org.nz.
Regatta entries open
Entries have opened for New Zealand's biggest multi-day keelboat regatta, with organisers of the CRC Bay of Islands Sailing Week starting the countdown to the event's 20th anniversary in less than six months' time. More than 100 boats are expected to take part in the January 25-28 regatta, with some sailors — including Ōpua Cruising Club members Cees Romeyn and Nev Campbell — taking part every year since the event began. The entry form can be found at www.bayofislandssailingweek.org.nz. The event was founded in 2002 by Nina and Tony Kiff.
Suicide prevention plea
Calls for Māori Suicide Prevention Community Fund applications are open and will close on the September 10.
The fund is delivered by Te Rau Ora Centre of Maori Suicide Prevention and is designed to support initiatives that will build the capacity of Māori whānau, hapū and iwi to prevent suicide within communities and to respond effectively if suicide occurs.
Te Rau Ora will support projects designed and implemented by Māori through grants ranging from $10,000 up to $100,000.
In 2020, the funding ran for the first time where 74 initiatives from across the country were supported.
GP recognised by peers
Kaikohe GP Dr Shane Cross has been recognised by the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners during its annual Fellowship and Awards ceremony.
Dr Cross was awarded the Community Service Medal for his outstanding contribution in the past 30 years.
As chair of Broadway Health Management, Dr Cross has grown one clinic into four serving nearly 17,000 patients across Kaikohe, Waipapa, Kaitaia, Kāeo and Okaihau.
Another Northland GP, Dr Sarah Scott, from the Bay of Islands, received the Dr Amjad Hamid Medal, which memorialises a rural heart doctor who died in the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack.
The award is for the top mark in the University of Otago's cardiorespiratory medicine for rural hospitals paper.