The chief executive of Cure Kids says the benefit of a sizeable donation for New Zealand children would have outweighed any reputational risk associated with the horse-racing industry. It comes amid revelations a $570,000 donation offer from a Waikato horse breeder was rejected by Starship Hospital.
Waikato Stud principal Mark Chittick’s horse I Wish I Win won big at the Golden Eagle race in New South Wales on Saturday.
The event specifies that the owner of the horse nominates a charity to donate 10% of its win to.
Chittick decided to offer Starship Hospital the opportunity to take $570,000 from the $5.2 million win but was turned down.
Having lost his wife to leukaemia 10 years ago, he told 1News he’s seen first-hand how hard hospital staff work and wanted to donate to the health system.
“They are incredible people and they do incredible stuff,” he said.
With a tight deadline, Chittick approached New Zealand’s Make-A-Wish Foundation but ran out of time to get the charity verified in Australia. The money has been subsequently donated to Muscular Dystrophy New South Wales (NSW).
Chittick said he was “shocked and surprised” at Starship’s decision.
“I’d hate to think that Starship looks upon our industry with any unfavourable view,” he said.
He said the racing industry has achieved “incredible results internationally through our thoroughbred breeding".
“It’s adds $1.6 billion to the national GDP yearly,” he said.
Cure Kids CEO weighs in
Cure Kids CEO Frances Benge told 1News the benefit of such a sizeable donation for New Zealand children would have outweighed any reputational risk associated with the origin of the donation.
Cure Kids is the largest charitable funder of child health research outside of the New Zealand Government.
“Horse racing is a legal sporting activity and when considering the donation, we would deliberate on the potential harm that the donor organisation may have on children and their families, any reputational risk of association with the organisation, and the potential offset and/or benefit the donation may have on health of our tamariki,” she said.
Benge said the Cure Kids board and executive team consider donations on a case-by-case scenario, “and on balance, consider the reputational risk of association with the donor and the impact that the donation could have on child health”.
CEO of Auckland Thoroughbred Racing Paul Wilcox, said Starship Hospital’s decision was letting sick kids and their parents down.
“Without knowing the full Starship response, I find it disappointing,” he said.
“I find it terrible that we have little kids affected by various conditions and over half-a-million dollars could have helped a lot of parents and children.
“They don’t understand what a beautiful gesture that was from Mark,” he said. “You can bet on anything you want in this world. Where do you draw the line?”
Wilcox is on the board of CatWalk Trust, a charity that funds research with the aim of fixing paralysis following a spinal cord injury.
“I know people who have been affected by this and to me it’s something important - so I like to do things and give my time freely to help,” he said.
Last year Wilcox donated $10,000 to Mercy Hospice.
Starship responds
In a statement to 1News, Starship Foundation's CEO Aisha Daji Punga said Starship's partnership obligations were behind the donation rejection.
“The Starship Foundation is delighted to be the beneficiary of donations from individuals, clubs and organisations – donations which make a very real difference for children across Aotearoa New Zealand. Careful consideration is always given to our involvement in events and other initiatives where there is an intention to support Starship and its work.
"We are extremely proud to have partnerships with a range of sponsors who make substantial contributions in support of our national children’s hospital. While we are grateful to accept contributions outside of our established partnership programme, providing the Starship Foundation’s branding and promotional material is not always possible in order to uphold our existing partnership obligations. In this instance, we were unable to be the nominated charity due to these considerations.”
The Starship Foundation recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. The foundation currently has a number of projects it is fundraising for.
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