From the outset, organisers of Oamaru's Portside Punch charitable boxing event aimed to raise $100,000 for the Otago Community Hospice's North Otago Hospice House project.
Yesterday morning, Sally-Ann Donnelly and Kate Cartwright were ''incredibly proud'' to present the proceeds of last month's event, a whopping $118,067, to the organisation.
It is believed to be the largest amount raised by a single charity fundraising event in North Otago.
But they took little credit for the tally, instead heaping praise on the boxers and the generosity of the community.
''The key to it was the boxers; they sold the tables on their own,'' Mrs Donnelly said.
''People wanted to support them and be there. They're just truly good, good people.''
What started as a casual conversation last year had grown into the biggest one-night fundraiser Oamaru had had.
''The result is just amazing,'' Otago Community Hospice chief executive officer Ginny Green said.
''It just goes to show how a community can get behind a project like this.''
The positive feedback continues to roll in, as the event provided a boost for the whole town, with businesses commenting on an increase in trade as more than 450 people prepared for a night to remember.
It also generated unmatched awareness for the Otago Community Hospice's project to build a Hospice House in North Otago.
''While [$118,067] was the figure for hospice, it's also gone wider than that,'' Miss Cartwright said.
A lot of questions had been raised about the Hospice House, which would be a hub for North Otago Hospice staff, clinical staff and volunteers to provide education services, supportive therapies, medical and outpatient clinics and bereavement and grief counselling.
It would also provide a base for fundraising activities, including the second-hand shop.
''There are lots of ideas. It's still very much in the planning stage,'' Mrs Green said.
''The concepts are still in the beginning phases, but I can only highlight that it won't be a facility with beds; it's more around services. North Otago has got great palliative care services already.''
A site had not yet been chosen. The Hospice House would give the organisation a more visual presence in Oamaru and increase access for those in need - with an aim to keep people in their own homes, symptom-free, for as long as possible.
''We provide specialist palliative care for symptom control, and that symptom control could be anything - physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, emotional, spiritual distress,'' she said.
Meanwhile, Mrs Donnelly has already got the wheels in motion for another hospice fundraising project - the first annual ''North Otago Boar n Stag Muster'' to be held from August 8-10.
