South Canterbury residents dug deep in support of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter last month.
Participants in the Back to Base challenge across the region raised just under $7000.
The challenge encouraged individuals and teams to cover the distance equivalent to a real rescue helicopter mission over the month of August, raising funds along the way for the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust.
Included in the participants across South Canterbury were Alice Brice and her two children Felicity (9) and Hugo (7) who raised $1575 for the cause with the three of them covering the distance of 349km over the month.
‘‘Ironically the same day my friend’s partner flew from Timaru to Christchurch after a medical event.
‘‘We were blown away by the support. It is such an easy charity to fundraise for. People understand the importance of this service and know — just like my friend — you never know when you will need it.’’
She said she would highly recommend participating.
‘‘It’s easy to fundraise for, also a chance to set yourself a challenge to cover the kilometres.’’
She said it was also very empowering for the children.
‘‘They were checking off their kilometres making sure they were going to make the distance.
‘‘The kids were right into it getting excited when people supported them and making sure they covered the distance.’’
Canterbury West Coast air rescue trust CEO Christine Prince said to have 126 incredible individuals step forward and be part of this effort was nothing short of humbling.
‘‘We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support we have received through Back to Base. The generosity we have enjoyed from our communities will play a vital role in supporting and transforming our life-saving service.’’
Ms Prince said it was fitting that as the Back to Base challenge came to an end, the first of the Trust’s new H145 rescue helicopters arrived in Christchurch.
‘‘The arrival of this H145 helicopter is the beginning of an exciting journey to modernise our rescue helicopter service. Our Back to Base challengers and their supporters have been integral in helping us get the first of our new helicopters back to base.’’
MISSION 2026 was the rescue helicopter service’s biggest transformation in its 40-year history, involving an upgrade of the fleet along with significant investment in new equipment, technology, Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability, and advanced crew training.
To realise that vision, four H145 rescue helicopters were recently purchased by the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust, with support from the community, Westpac, Health NZ and service operator GCH Aviation.
The first arrived in late August, with the remaining three helicopters arriving over the next five months.
Prince said the community response to MISSION 2026 has been heartwarming, with more than $1 million raised so far.
‘‘We now have the enormous job to get the new H145 helicopters commissioned and fully operational. We need the community’s support now more than ever to realise our vision and ensure we have a worldclass rescue helicopter service that can save more lives, more often.’’
From January to July 2025, the Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopters were tasked to 397 missions, with 54 missions to South Canterbury.
The funds raised through the challenge will go towards the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust’s MISSION 2026.
