This weekend’s rebranded Skyline Charity Golf Classic doubles as a fundraiser for the Lakes District Hospital Foundation (LDHF), which supports services, training and equipment at the Frankton facility that’s not otherwise funded by the government.
A monster raffle, if sold out, should net about $10,000 for LDHF alone this weekend.
Chairman Jon Bitcheno, who’s very grateful his charity has been selected, anticipates they’ll raise $15k to $20k — "that’s a substantial amount we can do stuff with".
Since 2016, the foundation’s raised about $1.8million.
Of that, $1.2m’s supported a CT scanner and most of the balance has funded a whanau room to accommodate the families of out-of-town patients and ongoing nurse training.
Bitcheno says funding’s mostly come from community trusts "and sometimes Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora has put in money itself".
This 47th golf event will again be played at Queenstown Golf Club’s Kelvin Heights course with a full field of 120 pairs.
Tournament convener Simon Hayes had the idea for the charity component to refresh the tournament and use it to support the community.
With Skyline Enterprises committing to at least the 50th tournament in 2028, "we think it’s the longest single golf sponsorship event in the country and possibly the longest sports one," he notes.
