By Marena Mane
Click HERE to watch the interview video!
Race4Life is the only not-for-profit organisation in Aotearoa dedicated to fulfilling the wishes of terminally ill adults in New Zealand and is calling for urgent public support to continue operating beyond October.
After six years in operation, the organisation needs to raise $300,000 before the end of next month or it will face the harsh reality of shutting its doors in less than five weeks’ time.
Over its six years, Race4Life has granted several wishes to Māori recipients, which continue to have lasting impacts on their friends and whānau today.
Founder and general manager Viv James says it’s “living that moment you have, cherishing it, and knowing that there is an opportunity here to create more beautiful memories with your family.”
James says Race4life helps create opportunities for people to fulfill their spiritual and emotional realm, thus creating moments to treasure with their loved ones.
“There are some beautiful stories of the 600 wishes we’ve done over the past six years that just show that very point. So take the opportunity, and know that those cherished memories will remain with you forever.”
James says the challenges that Race4life are experiencing at the moment are Covid-19 and the continued effect it is having on New Zealand which has impacted it the most.
She says Race4life granted 147 wishes in 2019 but, with the effect of Covid-19, they had to reduce their staff from nine to five.
“We had a waiting list that was so long, people were actually dying and 33 people died on our waiting list in 2020, which was really, really awful for all involved.”
James says she gave her all to the organisation and sacrificed time with her whānau and now wishes to step down to give someone else the opportunity to take the trust to the next level and to promote the organisation to where it needs to go.
“The position of general manager demands, about $100,000, and so we’re reaching out to the community of New Zealand, to see who can help in any small or large way to support this role so there’s a sustainable model that can allow for the continuation of this beautiful cause.”
“It’s the only one in New Zealand, and in fact the only one of very few in the world that has a trust like this.”
Recipient John Coopman
One, in particular, is the experience of Race4Life Wish recipient John Coopman, who died last month after a short battle with stage 4 cancer. Before his death, knowing there was a chance he’d miss seeing his children get married, John’s wish was to hire a dapper suit and have professional photographs taken with his tamariki, so they could still feel his presence on their wedding days and other significant life events.
John’s daughter Mikeila Coopman of Ngāpuhi says it is hard to describe her father in just a few words but he was a very colourful, quirk,y yet very simple man.
Mikeila says that, due to her fathers declining health and coming to the realisation that he wasn’t going to be around to spend significant milestones with her and her sisters, with the help of Race4life, they decided to capture memories with their father surrounded by friends and whānau to keep his memory alive
“We had friends coming from far and wide to see Dad, we had ladies doing hair and makeup for my little sisters, a photographer running around, ladies blowing up balloons in the lounge. It was so awesome.”
“I would never really be able to capture in words how I feel about it because seeing how happy my dad was, was incredible.”
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