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Strictly Sumner raised $150,000 for the new Sumner Sports Pavilion. Reporter Kees Chalmers spoke to the person behind its success, organiser Kate Whithear, about her fundraising journey and her passion for the community.
For Canterbury mum Kate Whithear running a business and raising two young boys was never easy.
She admired the mums who were able to go into Sumner School and help the pupils with their reading and writing in the classroom. But Whithear never had enough time during the day, as she was operating Freedom RV, the motorhome and caravan dealership she has run with her husband Neil since about 2006.
Whithear, 52, thought for all the years she was not able to help out at school, she would make up for it with one big event for the community.
That was when she dreamt up Fight for Sumner in collaboration with Fight for Christchurch director Justin Wallace and Sumner boxer Tony Bell.
The 2015 event saw 20 novice boxers from the Sumner community square off against each other for charity.
About 500 people packed out the Sumner School hall and $80,000 was raised for a variety of local causes chosen by each fighter.
“Everyone loved the big event because Sumner hadn’t had anything like it before
“It was quite funny to go from having no events to such a crazy big event, but I really enjoyed it,” she said.
Despite the event’s success and positive reception, she found the boxing itself hard to watch, particularly seeing Sumner Redcliffs RSA president Les Salter and longstanding Sumner Squash and Tennis Club member Tim Hobbs go at it, both already well into their 60s.
“They had a great time. Everyone enjoyed it but it wasn’t really me,” she said.
Inspired by the success of Fight for Sumner, Whithear wanted to organise another large-scale community event, but one where she would not have to watch through her fingers and gritted teeth.
She developed Strictly Sumner for the next year, a similar concept to Fight for Sumner, but pairing 20 novice dancers to dazzle on the dance floor rather than throwing leather.
“I wanted it to be something happy and nice,” she said.
The event reached even bigger heights, raising $100,000 for 10 different charities.
She had planned to bring the event back earlier, but work, kids and life had gotten in the way.
Whithear was brought onto the Sumner Sports Pavilion Rebuild group last year for her fundraising experience and was inspired by the project to resurrect Strictly.
The $3.4 million project will house the Sumner rugby and cricket clubs as well as the Sumner Redcliffs RSA.
She and Neil moved to Sumner from England in 2001, just a 10-minute drive from Mt Pleasant, where she grew up.
The couple met while Whithear was living in London. They were both working at a recruitment agency, he as a consultant and she as an accountant, paying Neil his commission.
“He used to try and bribe me. He’d say if I give you this then I’ll meet my target. I’d be like, no Neil,” she joked.
They became good friends before getting together a year later.
About 20 years ago, they took over the motorhome business owned by her parents, Bob and Shirley, initially to get it ready to sell.
They took the dealership, which was founded in 1984, into the 21st century with a website and social media marketing.
After a year, they decided to stay on and have been running the business ever since.
Business at the dealership spikes significantly over summer, allowing Whithear to focus on fundraising for much of the rest of the year.
The rugby club has also been a massive part of the Whithear family for the past 16 years.
Their sons Archie and Harry played through the grades, Neil has coached and managed teams across the juniors and colts, and Kate has held a number of administrative roles over the years.
“We’re so appreciative for all the great times we’ve had down here. I wanted to make sure I was doing something to help it,” she said.
“It’s like no other in Christchurch, it’s like a country club. You come down here to any game, and it’s packed. Likewise, you go to an away game, and there’s more Sumner supporters than there are opposition, it’s really special.
“Coaches come and go over the years, but the club people don’t.”
She recognised the current facility had run its course but still found it difficult to let go of the place that held so many fond memories.
“It’s iconic but it’s definitely time to go,” she said.
“I just can’t wait for the RSA to have a place to call home, for the players to be proud of their club rooms.”
Organising Strictly became a full-time job for Whithear over the past six months. Her sales team at the dealership were answering more enquiries about Strictly than motorhomes.
The work started long before anyone stepped on the dance floor, with Whithear hand-picking contestants, persuading some for months to take part, pairing them with experienced dancers and arranging lessons and training venues.
From there, she organised sponsors, put out promotional material and social media content, and finally pulled the event together.
She found this event less stressful to organise because of the experience gained from her previous two ventures.
“I was quite calm, I was really well organised. A lot of things were in place well before the event kicked off,” she said.
About 150 volunteers were involved in the marquee build and pack-down, decorating, waiting and bar staff, and anything else that was needed on the night.
“We’re incredibly lucky to live in a community where you can put something like this out there and so many people step forward to make it happen,” she said.
Whithear had four sleepless nights leading up to the event and was physically shaking in the hours before it kicked off. But once it started, she was able to sit back and enjoy watching her hard work come together.
“It was just walking in and just seeing all those happy faces, just everyone beaming, everyone having such a good time,” she said.
The event raised $150,000, with donations continuing to pour in. The group has now raised $1.55 million towards the rebuild.
Whithear said this would be her last Strictly as event director. She has already engaged someone to take it on and potentially bring it back every five years.
“I’d absolutely love to help and support the next one, just perhaps not be the person in charge of the whole thing,” she said.