Latest news with #WestpacChopperAppeal
Otago Daily Times
08-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Rescue chopper has special place in one rider's heart
Southland's Bruce Winter, whose wife and son have both needed to use the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter following heart attacks, is pictured before today's Chopper Bike Ride, an annual fundraiser for Lakes District Air Rescue Trust (LDART). He is with (from left) Gemma and Richie McCaw, LDART chairman Jules Tapper, broadcaster Paddy Gower and Westpac NZ Otago Southland regional manager Phil Taylor. PHOTO: TRACEY ROXBURGH You can bet Southlander Bruce Winter's wife and eldest son will not be too far from his thoughts during a gruelling 230km bike ride today. Mr Winter, 69, is one of about 100 cyclists — including at least four former Olympians — taking part in this year's Chopper Bike Ride from Queenstown to Invercargill, a fundraiser for the annual Westpac Chopper Appeal. The riders are aiming to raise a record $150,000 for the Lakes District Air Rescue Trust to support the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Service, which last year flew 2097 missions. Mr Winter, who was a road cyclist for 10 years and a keen mountain biker, said this would be his sixth edition of the Chopper Bike Ride, an event to which he had previously donated but began participating in after his wife, Catherine, needed the rescue helicopter in 2016. Sheep farming at the time at Spar Bush, Mrs Winter, then aged 54, had spent a morning winding up electric fences. By 3pm that afternoon she complained of a sore arm, believing she had pulled a muscle. "She was actually starting to have a heart attack then," he said. Unaware, Mr Winter headed out again and returned home just before 6pm and immediately knew "something wasn't right". She was taken by ambulance to Southland Hospital — a rescue helicopter happened to be there, having been brought in for another patient. "But Catherine took precedence, so they flew her to Dunedin ... it's only a 48-minute flight from Invercargill to the top of Dunedin Hospital. She landed on the roof, they took her down and [put a stent in] straight away." Then last July, their son Andrew, then aged 36, also needed a life-saving flight to Dunedin after he confused a heart attack for pneumonia. The Cromwell-based diesel mechanic thought about driving to Clyde Hospital, but his boss encouraged him to go to the medical centre instead. "So he rang the medical centre and they sent an ambulance." After a couple of hours in Clyde, the call was made to the rescue helicopter, which had to land south of Alexandra due to an inversion layer. By the time his parents got to Dunedin, Andrew had a stent inserted and was "good as gold". Now living near Forest Hill, Mr Winter said one of the helicopter flight paths from Queenstown passed directly overhead. Noting the regularity with which that happened, he said he was acutely aware of the service's importance. Riders in today's event include former All Blacks captain and Westpac NZ ambassador Richie McCaw, 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning rower Nathan Cohen, Black Sticks great Gemma McCaw and her former team-mate, Diana Te Awa, Paralympic tandem sighted pilot Laura Thompson, former Olympic cyclist Glenn McLeay and broadcaster Paddy Gower. While they would spend 12 hours in the saddle, stopping at local schools along the route, a smaller group of riders including Westpac NZ institutional and business banking managing director Reuben Tucker, have taken the fundraising to a new level — riding 800km from Nelson to join the start of the Chopper Bike Ride in Queenstown. By last night, just over $75,000 had been donated through the Westpac Chopper Appeal Givealittle page.
NZ Herald
07-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Northland Rescue Chopper Appeal under way after busy 2024
Last year, the Westpac Chopper Appeal raised a record $1.44 million for the rescue helicopter trusts around the country, including around $40,000 in Northland. All money raised in a region goes to that region's rescue helicopter trust. Northland Emergency Services Trust chairman Paul Ahlers said the public's generosity is essential to keeping its choppers and specialised crews operating. 'We take great pride in providing New Zealanders with first class medical care in some of their greatest times of need, and we rely on the generosity of New Zealanders to keep our choppers in the air,' Ahlers said. 'The money raised goes towards things like new equipment, maintenance and staff training, which cost more every year, making public support that much more valuable.' Westpac funds the marketing and administration costs of the Chopper Appeal – in addition to its sponsorship arrangements – and distributes all funds raised back to donors' local rescue helicopter trust. Westpac NZ chief executive Catherine McGrath said people who are saved by a chopper often tell their rescuers of their relief when they hear the helicopter. 'There's no greater sound when you need it, and our TV ad 'takeover' will bring that sound into New Zealanders' living rooms and hopefully encourage them to donate and support their local rescue helicopter service,' McGrath said. 'Rescue chopper crews do a wonderful job all day, every day, all around the country to help keep communities safe. It's a longstanding partnership that means a lot to us, and every year our teams dig deep to raise funds.' Westpac teams and others will be shaking a bucket on street corners around the country on the annual Chopper Street Appeal Day on Thursday, May 8.
Otago Daily Times
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Ride chasing huge target for Reece
The late Reece McDonald pictured during last year's annual Chopper Bike Ride. PHOTO: SUPPLIED There'll be an integral part of the annual Chopper Bike Ride missing from next month's 230km grunt from Queenstown to Invercargill, but participants will be carrying him with them. For more than a decade, Invercargill's Reece McDonald, a keen cyclist and business community leader, was a dedicated fundraiser for the Westpac Chopper Appeal and joint organiser of the Chopper ride — he participated in last year's event, before his unexpected death last October. To honour his contributions, this year riders will wear race shirts with built-in black armbands, emblazoned with 'Reece', during the May 9 event. Westpac NZ Otago and Southland regional manager Phil Taylor says McDonald knew first-hand how vital the rescue choppers are in our part of the country, requiring the life-saving support of a helicopter himself after a heart attack in 2019. "While it won't be the same without him, he'll be in our thoughts all the way. "It's going to be an emotional day, but we'll come together to celebrate Reece's contribution, share some stories and keep up his legacy." Included in the field this year will be first-timer former Black Stick Diana Te Awa — she'll be joined by one of her former team-mates, Gemma McCaw, who's returning this year along with her husband, former All Black captain Richie McCaw, 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning rower Nathan Cohen and broadcaster Paddy Gower. This year riders are aiming to raise a record $150,000 — all proceeds will go to the Lakes District Air Rescue Trust (LDART) to support the Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter Service, which flew 2097 missions last year. LDART chairman Jules Tapper says it's "amazing" to see the growth of the event over the years, which has raised more than $1million since 2011, noting the momentum continues to grow. To donate, visit
