Every year Top Energy and Northpower contribute $250k to the appeal. We have been sponsoring the service since the first flight in 1988. Last year Northlanders donated over $334,000, and we were very thankful for that generosity.
By the end of September this year, the service responded to 1,013 call-outs, 234 more than the same period in 2020. This year will be the busiest on record, surpassing the 1115 flights completed in 2020.
Throughout the 2021 fundraising appeal, you will be hearing plenty of real-life stories about Northlanders who have been rescued.
Local businessman Mike Lindsay was lucky not to die after falling from a ute and being run over by a trailer a decade ago, while Bream Bay College student Kayden Hall survived a head-on crash this year. You can read about them here.
Matakohe farmer Clive Smith tells his story of a wasp attack that should have killed him and Monique Bradley updates us on her journey back from a major head injury. Monique’s accident is the focus of the latest Northland Rescue Helicopter storybook, the first in the series to be based on a true rescue.
This year’s book focuses on Monique’s survival from an accident on the beach at Whananaki South in 2015.
The books are a great Christmas present and you can buy them here.