A Kiwi charity is hitting the road in a specially modified shipping container to reach more New Zealanders who are living with the gruelling side effects of cancer treatment.
Look Good Feel Better provides free workshops for people with any type of cancer and will use the container as a mobile base for free Feel Better classes in areas of the country they have not previously been able to support.
The 40 foot container – named Look Good Feel Better On the Move – has been decorated with the charities trademark butterflies and modified inside to accommodate workshop participants with the addition of comfy couches, tables and chairs, storage, and floor to ceiling mirrors.
The workshops are an occasion for participants to feel like a person, not a patient, and claim back their identity – while getting practical tips to combat the ongoing visual and emotional effects of therapy.
Mazda has made a $10,000 contribution, shipping container specialists Royal Wolf painted and fitted out the container, Farmers provided furnishings and set up materials, and Sistema Plastics donated hundreds of storage boxes. BP Oil and Mitre 10 have also contributed significantly to the project.
Look Good Feel Better’s General Manager Clare O’Higgins says the travelling container concept is not only unique but perfectly suited to the nationwide workshops LGFB run.
“We sometimes struggle to find suitable venues to do our classes, or set classes up in areas without trained tutors or volunteers, but with the container fitted out just the way we want it, it provides the perfect environment for people to come in, relax, and take part in the classes.”
The container starts its journey next year in the South Island in March and makes its way around the country ending up in Auckland during July for Feel Better Month, the charities annual awareness and fundraising campaign.
“We’re so appreciative of all these wonderful companies coming together to support the service we provide to cancer patients in the community. Without these companies the LGFB On the Move project wouldn’t be possible,” O’Higgins says.
Andrew Clearwater, Mazda NZ managing director, says Mazda feels very fortunate to assist such a wonderful charity who help people living with cancer across New Zealand.
“We have worked with Look Good Feel Better for a number of years now and to see our concept come to life is astonishing,” Clearwater explains. “We’d like to say a huge thank you to all of the other companies who have come on board to help this truly deserving charity, and we are looking forward to seeing it on the road next year.”
Audrey Galbraith, Royal Wolf operations manager – New Zealand, says the company is always looking for ways to give something back to the community and helping out a charity like Look Good Feel Better has been a fantastic opportunity.
“We’re in the business of modifying containers to meet our customer’s unique needs, but we’ve never created a mobile makeover workshop space before,” Galbraith notes. “Look Good Feel Better do such great things in the community and to be able to provide a comfortable and homely space for them to run their classes is a privilege.”
