Indie, 3, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive brain tumour in May this year.
She survived major surgery to remove 95% of the tumour and has now undergone her final round of intense chemotherapy at Christchurch Hospital, as the family await sign-off on high-cost treatment in Atlanta for proton therapy, not available in New Zealand.
Her father, Shaun Todd, originally from Oamaru, said the "hard work and heart" people had put into the fundraisers was "incredible".
"We’re so lucky to have such amazing people rallying behind us when we’ve needed it most," he said.
Indie is now battling a fever and possible infection — "nothing she hasn’t faced before"— and Mr Todd said it was "awful to watch her go through it".
But they were buoyed by all the community support.
"We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone helping make it possible for our little family to stay together through the next stage of Indie’s treatment in Atlanta," he said.
The family hoped Indie would be discharged in the next week or so and said the timing of their travel would depend on how quickly the toddler recovered and final approval for the funding.
The team will row 232km, 1km for every day that Indie has been fighting cancer.
"We just want to raise as much as we can to help our wee Indie," Mrs Todd said.
She said they were "so thankful" to all the sponsors including local businesses Milligans Foodgroup, TK Hire and Poshtel.
"There is also currently a competition running on the Row for Indie Facebook page to win a New World voucher, thanks to The Good Guys."
Raffles, a sausage sizzle thanks to Harris Farms, cupcakes donated by Liv’s Cakes and Designs as well as rowing competitions for people to enter would be available on the day, Mrs Todd said.
"An Evening for Indie" at the Loan and Merc on November 8 will feature entertainment from this year’s Gold Guitar winner Keily Smith, a seated dinner and live auction.
The event had been organised by Prue Kingan, her mother Clare Engelbrecht and her sister Jess Percival.
"It’s an honour to be one of Haylee’s best friends and for our family to be organising this event for Indie, Haylee, Shaun and Hudson.
"We really hope we can do them proud on the night and help lighten the load of the very tough road they’re so bravely walking," Mrs Kingan said.
Ticket sales were "going amazing" and she urged people to not miss out.
"We’ve called in so many of our friends and family to support us with this event, and without people like Keily we wouldn’t have been able to make it possible.
"We know she’ll get everyone dancing on the night and having an incredible time," she said.
Mrs Kingan said the live auction on the night was "shaping up to be impressive", with a 2023 signed All Blacks Rugby World Cup shirt, Blackcaps and Nuggets shirts also up for auction and "incredibly special" artworks by Sharon Murcott and Philip James Frost.
Local artist Matthew Wicks (Wicksey) was also lending his support to fundraise for Indie by offering one Waitaki resident a mural, either indoors or outdoors, that he would paint.
"I can’t wait to see how much we can raise for them and I look forward to making some awesome mural art for one of you," he said.
