Outgoing Novotel Queenstown general manager, and quiz organiser, Jim Moore says that’s up on the amount raised last year, and pushes the total raised for Cure Kids from the quiz, which dates back to 2008, to about $549,000.
When the amount raised through Moore’s twice-annual ‘men’s luncheons’, which Cure Kids also benefits from, is added in, the total’s about $774,000.
While the charity doesn’t get all the money raised from the lunches, they do get "a large proportion of it", Moore says, noting they’re incredibly grateful for Queenstowners’ support. "I think it just shows how generous Queenstown is — and if you have a bit of fun, you can raise a lot of money."
While Moore, bound for Fiji, officially finishes at Novotel Queenstown tomorrow, he’s hopeful other locals will continue organising the charity events.
He’s quietly optimistic he’s found someone to take over the men’s luncheons, and is hopeful some others may step in to continue running the annual quiz.
"I’m trying to do a bit of an overview and just pencil in a date next year so it puts pressure on a few people to step up.
"The lunch I’m pretty confident that will go ahead.
"Novotel and a couple of the guys here are pretty keen to make sure they support whomever steps up for that.
"We want to try to make it as easy for [someone] to do that as possible," Moore says.
