NBS Dancing for a Cause 2021

A real success story

In 2018 a group of passionate dancers and Hospice supporters came together to put on a show inspired by the popular TV show, Dancing with the Stars. Local personalities were recruited and   teamed up with semi-professional dance partners to compete together on the dance floor and in fundraising. The group organised a show that wowed the audience and made a substantial contribution to the campaign for building a new purpose-built Hospice in Stoke.

The success of this event prompted the group to re-form and become a volunteer-led charitable trust in 2020. They recruited another slate of local celebrities to participate and support Hospice, then set about planning a gala event. The competitors practiced their dances, and all the logistics were falling into place; then Covid-19 hit, New Zealand’s level 4 lockdown was announced, and the team had to postpone the May 2020 event until May 2021.

The support from the community to go through with this event made this one of the best fundraising events in Nelson’s living memory. The show was fantastic, thanks to outstanding work from everyone involved. The seats at Trafalgar Centre were all filled, the audience was thrilled, and in the end 2021’s NBS Dancing for a Cause raised a record smashing ~$250,000 to support Hospice’s range of services for patients and their families.

The list of people who volunteered their time, made donations, and helped with planning – too long for our space here – reflects the breadth of support for Hospice in our community, for which the Hospice team is most humbled. Our sincere appreciation goes to everyone who helped make the event such a success – first and foremost the Dancing for a Cause Charitable Trust team: Emma Silke-French, Robbie Burns, Stu Dalton, Sandra Maxfield, Samuel Nicholls, Sally Thomas and Sonya Thomson; the dance partners: Hazel Adcock, Oliver Black, Zara Fowler, Sally Gordon, Anthony Hewson, Brooke Silke-Atkins, Joel Scott and Shannon Taylor; and the contestants: Sarah Board, Al Columbus, Hamish Fletcher, Phill Jones, Grant Rosewarne, Nick Smith, people’s choice winner Lizl Matthewson, and winner (both on the dance floor and in fundraising) Abbie Cook. Thank you all – we are your hospice!