4 minute read
Letitia's message
Letitia’s Message
Well, summer is finally just around the corner, which hopefully brings brighter and more stable weather around the country.
For the Foundation, we have just wrapped up our busy Breathe Better September (BBS) month, and what an amazing month it was. It was wonderful to join Nick Ashill at the start of his momentous 48hour ‘Laps for Lungs’ marathon, which not only raised awareness of respiratory disease in New Zealand, but also raised almost $12,000 for the Foundation’s mahi. You can read more about the BBS campaign on page 4.
We also introduced Josh Brodie in the spring edition of the magazine, and we now invite you to follow Josh’s journey to compete in the 2024 New Zealand Ironman at www.joshvsasthma.co.nz. Josh has lived with asthma all his life, yet has competed at national-level sports. His message is simple – don’t let asthma hold you back. Josh was recently announced as the recipient of the 2024 Ironman Scholarship, and we wish him all the best for this gruelling challenge.
As you probably know, the Foundation receives no government funding, so all our work is made possible by the generous support from our community funding groups, our donor family, our Friends of the
Foundation partners and New Zealanders who share our goal of improving respiratory health in Aotearoa.
The money we raised during BBS went directly into our essential work providing resources, education, and advocacy on behalf of the 700,000 Kiwis living with respiratory conditions.
It was also part of BBS month that we were generously donated 80 air purifiers from Mercury - 40 of which went into the campaign itself as prizes to those who donated. The remaining 40 were gifted to Bromley School in Christchurch where students were suffering adverse respiratory effects from the ongoing waste and water plant stench. You can read more about this on page 5.
This year, we are hosting the New Zealand Respiratory Conference and we have an incredible programme, with high calibre speakers who we know you will thoroughly enjoy. It is also great to be able to bring this conference back after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
The theme of the conference is ‘Leading the Way for Change’, and it is a time where we reflect on where we have been and where we are going – in this waka together. I would like to personally thank all our wonderful supporters, attendees and speakers who make this event possible.
Next year, we will be hosting the Respiratory Achievers' Awards. We are very proud to, again, be partnering with our Platinum sponsor G.J. Gardner to host these awards, and you can read more about this on page 6. Please put Thursday 23 May in your calendar for 2024 and let us know if there is someone deserving that you wish to nominate.
More information around how to nominate will be sent out later this year.
Education, support and reducing availability of vape products will be key to addressing the epidemic of youth vaping in New Zealand. The Foundation continues in its commitment to educate young people on the harms of vaping through interactive workshops for schools and kura run by our Āpiha Takawaenga (Māori Community Liaison) Sharon Pihema.
We are fortunate to be supported in this mahi by Te Taura Whiri I te Reo Māori so we can educate more rangatahi across the motu – thank you. Please contact Sharon if you know of a kura/school who needs one of these workshops.
We are also pleased to announce that we will soon be releasing the ‘Te Hā Ora - Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand Reference Guide to Support Rangatahi to Quit Vaping’. It will be launched at the New Zealand Respiratory Conference in November and will be available online following.
This is a special bumper summer issue of the Better Breathing magazine, so I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to get in touch with your feedback on the magazine or any other aspect of our work.
