General manager of charity discusses how advisers can help
Many Kiwis know of someone who is fighting cancer, and as they are active in their local communities, there are several ways that mortgage advisers can help.
A New Zealand-based cancer support charity, Look Good Feel Better continues to offer a range of free programmes for any person with cancer at any stage of treatment.
The not-for-profit provides support to patients of all walks of life and said that more than 380 classes (in-person and online) were planned over the coming calendar year.
Look Good Feel Better is one of three beneficiaries of Dry July NZ 2023, a fundraiser that challenges people to go alcohol-free to raise funds for New Zealanders affected by cancer. Thanks in part to the fundraising challenge, the charity told NZ Adviser sister publication Insurance Business that it will see a 42% increase in the number of its free classes for cancer patients and their families this year.
In addition to online services, which Dry July helps to fund, Look Good Feel Better holds in-person sessions across its 41 centres nationwide.
Look Good Feel Better general manager Clare O’Higgins said that within their own business communities, mortgage advisers were likely to know someone with cancer.
They could be a colleague, a client, an employee or an employer.
“One of the positive things that advisers are able to do is let someone know there is a free class nearby, whether an online class, an on-demand session or an in-person class within their community,” O’Higgins said.
Following its first grant application in 2016, O’Higgins said that LGFB had a part to play in terms of the funds that had come through the fundraiser since then.
Dry July funding from 2022 went into 38 new on-demand videos, available on the LGFB website, providing tips and tools for cancer patients and their families who may be going through treatment, she said.
O’Higgins said that LGFB’s growth was largely due to people’s generosity, and that the many small contributions made by Kiwis in support of Dry July made a big difference to its services, all of which were provided at no charge.
“During July, mortgage advisers might like to sign up and go Dry for July – or come and see the Look Good Feel Better team and make a donation for Dry July for any person affected by cancer,” O’Higgins said.
“We are one of the three main beneficiaries receiving funds and all of the services are based in New Zealand, are non-medical that any person with cancer can avail themselves of.”
Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ and PINC & STEEL NZ are also beneficiaries of Dry July 2023. Since it was launched in New Zealand in 2012, Dry July has raised $9 million for people affected by cancer, with over 170 projects for 15 beneficiary organisations funded.
O’Higgins said that Dry July had helped the LGFB programme to continue to evolve, saying that everything it did was “participant-led”.
“It is the generosity of individuals that help us to expand our services. So, if you can find your ‘why’ to give up for July, LGFB and the other beneficiaries are here to help you,” O’Higgins said.
“Please think about it, because every day 71 New Zealanders receive the news that they’ve been diagnosed with cancer.”
