Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust’s fundraising and development director Kathryn Marshall said Timaru was really getting behind the challenge, It had raised $10,000 already, and potentially a lot more by month’s end.
For the whole month of August South Canterbury people have been able to take on a distance challenge, get fit, improve their mental wellbeing and raise money to support the training and equipment needed on every rescue helicopter in the Canterbury region.
Swimming their way towards a 500km target are Air Rescue Trust ambassador Dale Walden and his team of ocean swimmers.
There are about 20 in the group, with a core of 15, who swim in the ocean during the warmer months, and head indoors during winter.
Aged mostly 40-plus, they decided to set a target of 500km.
Mr Walden said that was the distance from Timaru to Picton, or 20,000 lengths of the indoor pool at Caroline Bay.
He said the challenge had multiple benefits — improving mental and physical wellbeing of those taking part and raising money and awareness of the importance of the rescue helicopter to South Canterbury.
"I was talking to someone in the pool, and I said, ‘while most people think it’s just another helicopter going over, for me, it’s another life that has been saved’.
"Helicopters are only dealing with the critical, so more often than not, it’s life and death.
"Without this service, there are a lot of people who wouldn’t make it."
Mr Walden’s own family is well aware of the benefits a rescue helicopter service brings.
His daughter has twice required the life-saving service of air rescue services to take her from her Wanaka home to Dunedin Hospital.
Across town, the team in Timaru Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are also getting behind the challenge and getting a move on to raise funds.
Unlike some other groups, they often deal directly with air rescue helicopter crew.
ICU clinical leader Richard Whitticase said it was part of their wellbeing project to do something that was beneficial to the physical and mental wellbeing of the staff.
He said it also contributed to helping others like the Westpac helicopter personnel.
ICU registered nurse Catherine Barker said the team saw Westpac fairly regularly.
"They pick patients up for us and they also take them away and that’s a service that we’d find difficult to do without.
"Health teams helping health teams is very valid but also it helps get us out in the middle of winter when it’s cold, not so easy, hard to be motivated, everyone stuck inside.
"Having a target to work towards and a goal to aim for is definitely part of what we would promote as a wellbeing project within our department."
