While hospice chief executive Ginny Green was ecstatic about the amount, she said it was just the start of a long haul to raise the $2.1million needed to keep the Otago Community Hospice running in Dunedin.
The fundraiser, titled ''Bright, Night, Light'' was a dinner and auction held at the Otago Polytechnic Hub on Saturday. The special guest was celebrity chef and MasterChef New Zealand judge Josh Emett.
Ms Green said the event, hosted by Otago Polytechnic and sponsored by Colliers International, had been a successful start to the hospice's new fundraising year.
''We feel overwhelmed by the level of support we have received for this event from a huge range of businesses and individuals,'' Ms Green said.
''It was such a great night and all for a very worthwhile cause.''
Mr Emett helped design the menu for the dinner, and during the evening he explained to the audience his first-hand experience of hospice services, having lost his father five years ago at Hospice Waikato.
The event included an auction of items ranging from an original Hotere painting that sold for $13,250 to an Otago Polytechnic fees scholarship of $4000 and a dinner party for 10 at home with Otago Polytechnic Food Design Institute chef Mark Lane.
