Kate Vink (23), who begins studying fashion design at Otago Polytechnic next month, aims to give 50% of the car sale proceeds to CanTeen, 20% to the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust and use the remainder to pay her bills since she was made redundant.
She hopes to raise at least $10,000, the value of the car.
But first she has to get the car repaired after a minor crash and she is asking workshops to offer their mechanical or electrical expertise, spare parts, or a tank of fuel in exchange for an advertising sticker on the bodywork.
Miss Vink said she was prompted to raise the funds after her sister Susie Vink died of pancreatic cancer, aged 18, on March 1.
Their mother Jane Vink died of leukemia, aged 48, in 2004, and their grandfather died of prostate cancer in 2002.
Miss Vink has also started a Facebook page, called Fight For The Right To Party, to support people experiencing loss.
