From a cricket great to an All Blacks captain, sports stars were auctioned off as golf partners on Friday, to raise money for a new facility to help people with neurological conditions.
Braintree is a new $8 million center for patients with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and dementia, but it needs millions of dollars in support without government funding. At Christchurch’s Clearwater Resort, 25 teams paid $1200 each to compete in a charity tournament – with the proceeds going towards the cause.
Seventy-one-year-old cricket great Sir Richard Hadlee said his swing is pretty stiff, but that the cause was worth it.
“You’ll probably find a lot of charities have got to raise their own money and there’s very little if any support from the Government.”
Braintree director Brendan Prendergast said they’re hoping to raise $100,000 at the event: “We have a two-million-dollar gap that we are trying to bridge now and today’s golf event is part of that.”
Meanwhile, the number of South Islanders with dementia is set to double in the next two decades to 30,000 people.
Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read said receiving a few concussions during his time on the field had helped put things in perspective.
“You see it in a different light,” he said. “It gets a bit scary and you understand exactly what it’s like, even my grandma’s going through issues now.”
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