Sharp is a proud supporter of
Arthritis New Zealand. For the past 3 years, we have been running an annual fundraising golf
tournament and over $45,000
has been fundraised for the charitable trust so far.
Philip Kearney, Chief Executive of
Arthritis New Zealand - Kaiponapona Aotearoa explains the funds go towards
their annual Children’s Camp event, which invites children with JIA (Juvenile
idiopathic arthritis) and their parents to a weekend filled with activities and
support.
“The amount of money raised is
massively helpful. Each year we fly or drive about 30 kids and their parents to
Tōtara Springs in Matamata, and it’s a weekend that we have where the parents
and child don’t need to pay for anything.”
Whilst arthritis is often
associated with older people, it can happen to kids and teens too. Philip says
the difficult thing about JIA is it’s not a disability that you can diagnose
right away. Kids affected often need to take a number of tests and it could
take 3 to 6 months for the child to be diagnosed with arthritis.
“You can imagine parents one day
just suddenly discovering that their child can’t move. Literally they will be
running around one day and the next day it’s almost like, everything’s stopped.
So what the camp does is firstly
bring kids together, and they get a chance to play but they also get a chance
to learn and have an amazing time. But the other thing is the parents can get
together. We try to bring some parents back a second time because often they
can support the new parents,” says Philip.
Arthritis affects one in six New
Zealanders. To find out more about Arthritis NZ, visit https://www.arthritis.org.nz/
Sharp is committed to making a
positive contribution to local communities, from local schools, charities and
Not-for-Profit organisations. Be sure to stay up to date with Sharp by
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