Canter for Cancer goes the extra mile to help Kiwi children with cancer
For horse owners across New Zealand, you can support children and families facing childhood cancer while looking after your beloved equine friend, thanks to one incredible Kiwi business.
Canter for Cancer, owned by Rotorua local Nicki Dwyer, makes and sells wonderful horse and calf covers, very generously donating a portion of every sale to Child Cancer Foundation. Canter for Cancer’s story has an extraordinary beginning, with Nicki trekking 200km across Mongolia on horseback to raise money for Child Cancer Foundation. Motivated by a personal connection to childhood cancer, Nicki completed the five-day trek with two other riders through the remote valleys of Mongolia’s Khangai Mountains in July 2014, raising $57,000 along the way. The trio were recognised by Child Cancer Foundation for their adventurous contribution in 2015 with a community service award.
The support for Child Cancer Foundation didn’t stop there. After returning from the trek, Nicki channelled her passion into making horse and calf covers, with the objective to continue raising money to help children and families facing childhood cancer. From breathable summer covers to warm and woolly rugs for winter, Canter for Cancer’s products are of fantastic quality and high comfort – loved by horse, calf and human alike.
Nicki manages all the operations for Canter for Cancer from her farm, which is situated near Rotorua. It is the home for all of her covers, which are packed and ready for dispatch to her loyal customers around New Zealand and offshore. A small team processes the orders in a speedy fashion, all happening in and around daily life on the farm and in her busy home with children and a very active puppy! Nicki rides her horses as often as she can, in between organising her products, auctions and ambassadors for Canter for Cancer, and attending shows to sells her rugs.
As well as pledging a percentage of their sales, Nicki and Canter for Cancer also hold one or two online charity auctions each year to raise funds and awareness for Child Cancer Foundation, and they are always a roaring success. A phenomenal $20,000 was raised in their 2020 auction, thanks to Canter for Cancer’s loyal supporters and a handful of very benevolent local businesses who donated goods to be auctioned. To date, Canter for Cancer have contributed more than $125,000 to Child Cancer Foundation, all of which goes towards ensuring that Kiwi families who are impacted by childhood cancer are supported when they need it most.
Child Cancer Foundation and all the families we support are so grateful for Canter for Cancer’s ongoing generosity, and the direct impact that their donations have made on families’ lives cannot be understated. Without compassionate supporters like Canter for Cancer, none of the work we do would be possible, proving that amazing things can happen when we work together against childhood cancer.
Support childhood cancer via Canter for Cancer by checking out their website.