Vining ‘overwhelmed’ with response
All Black Anton Lienert-Brown was on hand in Southland yesterday to help mark the annual Red, Black and White day and fundraise for the Southland Charity Hospital.
Hospital founder Melissa Vining had been on the road since 5am, visiting several rural schools and businesses before she joined Lienert-Brown in Winton. ‘‘We’re trying to get around to over 100 schools and businesses today . . . it’s just amazing seeing all of the kids and all of the businesses getting behind Red, Black and White Day . . . we’re so overwhelmed with how much generosity has come in,’’ she said.
Red, Black and White Day started in 2020 as a fundraiser to build the charity hospital, which will provide care for those living in the area who are unable to access treatment through public or private systems.
The hospital was the vision of Melissa’s late husband, Blair Vining, who fought tirelessly for better access for cancer care in Southland after receiving a terminal bowel cancer diagnosis in October 2018.
It is currently on track to be open before Christmas this year.
This year, a special music video was created with celebrities from across New Zealand to celebrate the day.
The video was to the tune of Southland Stags’ Southern Dreams song, with the lyrics re-written by students at Hauroko Valley Primary School to centre around Blair Vining and the charity hospital.
‘‘When we first watched it we were in tears,’’ Vining said.
Schools were invited to submit a video of their own rendition of the song, with the winning class – Room 11 at Winton School – receiving an interactive session with Lienert-Brown as a prize. ‘‘The judges chose their video because they felt it was the most energetic and most co-ordinated and absolutely loved the energy,’’ Vining said.
Lienert-Brown said it was special to be back in Winton supporting Vining’s dream, after previously playing in the Blair Vining Bucket List Rugby Game in Winton in 2019.
‘‘It’s special to be down here. Blair left a massive legacy that his beautiful wife Missy is carrying on. It’s awesome to see, and a testament to Blair and the work Missy has done as well . . . it does mean a lot.’’
Room 11 teacher Kayla Hodson said the students had been looking into Blair Vining’s legacy and learning about the hospital in the lead-up to the competition, which was shown in how energetic and passionate their submission was.
‘‘They loved it, they couldn’t believe they won . . . when they all sat down for the roll this morning I told them, and they all started jumping up and down . . . they were thrilled.’’