News Type: Events

Shave for a Cure is on again in 2017 and promises to see many more thousands of people lose their locks and raise funds in support of the six Kiwis diagnosed every day with a blood cancer. This year, Shave for a Cure Week will be held from March 20-26.

In one of the first shaves for 2017 local engineering student William Cran had his hair famously lopped off by actor Mel Gibson on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show.

“I was in Los Angeles just checking out Hollywood Boulevard, when a show producer asked if I was up for a haircut.”

“I wasn’t planning to get cut my hair so soon and as I had been growing it for three years, I had also become quite attached to it.” “But I figured why not, only to find that Mel Gibson was doing the job. The great news was I had the last laugh getting to shave off his beard.”

“It was after the Jimmy Kimmel show that I signed up for Shave for a Cure,” said William.

While William got a bit ahead of the scheduled Shave for a Cure dates, he’s still keen to shave and continues fundraising to reach his target.

Shave for a Cure has been around for over 15 years and is an iconic fundraising event. It attracts Kiwis from across New Zealand – mums and dads, students, business and trades people, celebrities and even the SKYCITY NZ Breakers basketball team, all keen to help those living with a blood cancer or related conditions.

Farmers is supporting Shave for a Cure once again for the fifth year and will be holding public shaves at selected stores.

Hundreds of people turned up for the launch of the iconic Shave for a Cure 2016 event held at the Farmers Auckland CBD store, corner of Queen and Victoria St, on March 31, 2016.

Hosted by Hilary Barry, the two-hour long event saw brave Shavees lose their beloved locks to the razor in a bid to raise money and awareness for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand.

New Zealand celebrities Art Green, Otis Frizzell, Michael Murphy, Shortland Street star Kerry Lee-Dewing, and Filthy Rich actors Alex Tarrant and Emma Fenton, rolled their sleeves up to help these daring volunteers create their new hairless-do.

Check out this fantastic piece by the NZ Herald about Farmers and LBC’s eight year relationship.

Didn’t Make It To The Auckland Event?

While this is the first Shave for a Cure event for the Farmers Auckland CBD store, other stores around the nation are no stranger to it. Each store will be running their own Shave for a Cure fundraiser over the next 10 days. You can find your local store here.

In the meantime, check out our gallery of the Auckland CBD launch!

Golfers from across the country are invited to take on the ultimate challenge of playing 100 holes of golf in one day to support Kiwis living with blood cancer.

Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand is aiming to raise over $200,000 through two 100 Hole Golf Marrowthon Challenges this year. The North Island Golf Marrowthon will be held on Friday October 16 at Taupo’s exclusive Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary, while the South Island Golf Marrowthon event is being held at Clearwater Golf Course on November 20.

Players of all handicaps will aim to each raise $2,500 – that’s $250 per hole – to help fund LBC’s work supporting patients and their families living with blood cancers and related conditions right across the country.

Golfers are encouraged to take part in this year’s Golf Marrowthon as individuals or teams of two or four. The last Golf Marrowthon event at Wairakei saw participants raise over $120,000 for LBC.

Pru Etcheverry, Chief Executive Officer of LBC, says the events, now in their 11^th year, have wide appeal.

We love the fact that people from all over the country come to test their endurance. In the past, professional and golf enthusiasts, as well as celebrities, corporate teams and family and friends of patients have all taken part.

The Golf Marrowthon has, over the years, attracted many celebrities keen to see if they can ‘make the cut’. Black Caps former captain Stephen Fleming, former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick as well as television presenters Hilary Barry and Peter Williams have all participated.

The day is a lot of fun with many competitors even coming in fancy-dress and golf carts getting entertaining make-overs, says Etcheverry.

Our golfers put incredible effort into fundraising before the event, and on top of that, the day can be a big physical challenge. LBC does not receive any government funding so this event ensures we can continue to be there for patients and their families living with blood cancers and related conditions in New Zealand.

To register for the event please visit: www.marrowthon.org.nz

Over 90 businesses battled it out to be the fastest up the 1,103 steps of Auckland’s iconic Sky Tower on Friday (August 14) when they took part in the Corporate Sky Tower Stair Challenge a fundraising event for Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBC).

More than $345,000 was raised by the event participants which exceeds last year’s total of $255,000 setting a new record for the event.

A team from Farmers Trading Company “Farmers Discount Driven” took out the highly contested spot of top the fundraising team who raised a staggering $23,000. Carey Smith from Ray White was the top fundraising who individually raised $5100.

Numerous other well-known Kiwi organisations including SKYCITY, Fidelity Life, NZ Police and St John Ambulance spent the months leading up to the event organising a range of original initiatives to try and win the overall fundraising prize.

Graham Oberlin-Brown from the Westpac Products Team not only was the fastest male runner but also set a new event record completing the climb in 6 minutes 16 seconds. 2014’s winner Luke Longdill from The Southern Cross Climbers was only one second behind on 6 minutes 17 seconds. Malindi Maclean from the Coca Cola Team Pump was the fastest female runner who finished in 8 minutes 6 seconds.

Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand’s CEO Pru Etcheverry says she is thrilled to see so much enthusiasm from the teams who are fighting their way up the leader board

“This is the fourth year we’ve held the Corporate Sky Tower Stair Challenge and it’s so exciting to set a new fundraising record for the event this year. I love seeing the fun and creativity that teams apply to their fundraising, we’re incredibly grateful for their support.”

SKYCITY General Manager Corporate Services Gráinne Troute says it’s fantastic to see the passion local Aucklanders and visitors bring to racing up the Tower, which has become such an iconic structure in Auckland after recently celebrating its 18th birthday

This is the only opportunity corporates and the wider community get to race up the Sky Tower. The funds go to an incredibly worthy cause, supporting all the amazing work LBC do in communities around New Zealand, says Ms Troute

The money raised from this event funds LBC’s work, including research and support of the six Kiwis diagnosed every day with a blood cancer or related condition and their families. LBC receives no Government funding.

The Corporate Sky Tower Stair Challenge is sponsored by SKYCITY and Fitbit. To find out more information about the event please visit www.skytowerstairclimb.org.nz

Central North Island residents living with leukaemia or blood cancer now have better access to support services thanks to a dedicated Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBC) office space in Hamilton East.

LBC’s Midlands office was today officially opened by His Excellency Lt Gen The Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae GNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand.

Located at 27 Pembroke St, the Midlands Office provides a dedicated space for patients, their families and health professionals to gather and gain direct access to a range of LBC support services.

The official opening celebration was well attended by LBC supporters, patients and health professionals, including Waikato DHB “Pou Herenga” Kingi Turner and the Waikato Hospital chaplains, who led a blessing including traditional karakia and waiata.

The Governor-General, who is Patron of Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand, said “It’s good to see Hamilton, New Zealand’s 4th largest city, getting a dedicated facility to serve the considerable population in this region and in the Bay of Plenty”.

LBC’s CEO Pru Etcheverry says the new office is a significant health resource for the Midlands region.

“When a diagnosis is made, LBC’s aim is to ease the burden on people and families during treatment and in the months and years that follow.”

“Having a shared space that is close to Waikato Hospital means people from across the Central North Island will no longer have to travel long distances to access support services, such as forums and educational meetings,” says Pru.

Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand is the only not-for-profit organisation in New Zealand dedicated solely to the care and cure for people living with an blood cancer or related condition.

Support is often tailored to an individual’s needs and can come in many forms, including telephone calls, emails and direct face to face contact in the hospital, home or in support services offices around the country.

LBC’s Support Services Coordinators facilitate a wide range of groups and educational events at locations around New Zealand.

The SKYCITY NZ Breakers opted for a more streamlined look heading into the NBL playoffs as they braved a shave on Thursday 19 February as part of Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand’s (LBC’s) Shave for a Cure campaign.

Mika Vukona, Rhys Carter, Duane Bailey, Reuben Te Rangi , Jordan Ngatai, Tai Wynyard, Brad Anderson, assistant coaches Paul Henare and Judd Flavell and SKYCITY NZ Breakers CEO Richard Clarke all parted with their locks to raise money to help the 6 kiwis diagnosed with a blood cancer or related condition every day.

Their team-mates selected a range of crazy hairstyles including a “Frullet” (Front Mullet), the “Jonah Lomu” “the reverse Mohawk” and the “Mr T” before they fully shaved their heads. LBC are an official charity partner of the SKYCITY New Zealand Breakers.

“It’s the second year we’ve taken part in Shave for a Cure as a team. It’s such a great way to help so many people affected by cancer and assist LBC who do such great work,” says SKYCITY NZ Breakers Assistant Coach Paul Henare.

Shave for a Cure is Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand’s signature fundraising event. Shave Week runs from March 23 – 29 where hundreds of schools, businesses and individuals will lose their locks and fundraise to help the 10,000 people affected by blood cancers in New Zealand.

The funds raised through Shave for a Cure enable Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand, who receive no Government funding, to support patients and families living with blood cancers and blood conditions free of charge across the country.

“We are incredibly grateful to the SKYCITY New Zealand Breakers for getting behind Shave again this year,” says LBC’s Chief Executive Officer, Pru Etcheverry.

“Their huge public profile really helps us raise awareness of our work, so we in turn can help more New Zealanders,” she says.

People can sign up to Shave for a Cure at www.shaveforeacure.co.nz