Local media company ‘shoots cancer in the face’

May 2016

Local media company ‘shoots cancer in the face’

Queenstown-based commercial video and photography company Shotover Media have raised more than $14,000 for The Cancer Society New Zealand since May 2015.

The company vowed to donate 30% of their profits to the Wakatipu branch of the charity and are currently producing a series of videos about the great work the charity does, an initiative it’s calling ‘Shooting Cancer… In The Face’.

This month, Pete Whittaker and James Perry of Shotover Media handed over their second donation of $7,500 to Marie Wales, Divisional Manager at The Cancer Society Otago and Southland.

The pair said that they were “inspired” by the way in which the charity assists the community on a day-to-day basis.

“Pete and I both left the UK with the same ambition: to change our lives and make a difference,” said Mr Perry.

“Cancer affects us all and immediately upon meeting with the team at the Cancer Society we knew this was a cause we wanted to get behind. We were greatly inspired by their incredible work and wanted to help in any way we could.

“The team at the Cancer Society have been a huge source of motivation and support in our early days of business and we would highly recommend and encourage other start-up companies to develop similar collaborations.”

The Cancer Society provides support in a number of ways; organising funding for research, promoting healthy lifestyles and minimizing the risk of developing cancer and providing care support for patients, family and friends.

It is not government funded and relies entirely on volunteers and donations from individuals and businesses like Shotover Media.

Marie Wales said that the partnership was having a “direct, positive impact” on people within the Queenstown Lakes region.

“Every cent of this donation goes towards helping people in the Wakatipu community. From babies to the elderly, we’re a one stop shop for anyone affected by cancer,” she said.

“The Shotover Media guys are amazing, they just want to give back to the local community and that’s pretty incredible.”

Shotover Media, which produces commercial videos, advertising and branded content, has been working closely with the Cancer Society to highlight the charity’s great work and perhaps inspire more generous volunteers and donors.

The busy pair also run Shotover Wedding Films, which creates cinematic wedding films.

Pete Whittaker said that local and international business support for ‘Shooting Cancer…In the Face’ had been “incredible”.

“We love working in partnership with the Cancer Society. They do some incredible work in our community and we’ve been lucky to meet some of the inspirational people that they help,” said Mr Whittaker.

"We're lucky to live in such an amazing place that has taken us in and offered us so much. We really wanted to give something back. We'd also like to thank the local and international business community whose amazing support in our project has helped us get this off the ground."

ENDS

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