Food allergy research fund launched

Great start with a $10,000 kick-off donation from Peter and Janice Leitch.
Fund raising through TradeMe Auctions

We need your help!

Very little is known about food allergy in New Zealand and research is needed so we can do more to help improve the lives of allergy sufferers.

Research can help us advocate for improvements in health services and funding for vital medicines such as an adrenaline auto-injector for treating anaphylaxis

To meet this need we have set up a Food Allergy Research Fund.The fund will enable us to assist and, if

necessary, commission research projects geared towards improving the daily lives of individuals and families. We are very grateful for the enormous generosity shown by our irrepressible ambassador Peter Leitch and his wife Janice, who have donated $10,000 to kick off the fund.

As a first step to build the fund we're running an ongoing series of TradeMe Auctions starting at the end of this month. We need your help to source items for sale, to encourage relatives and friends to join in, and to bid for items!

To make a donation click here or call 0800 34 0800.

As many as 10 babies are born every day in New Zealand who will go on to develop food allergy*, across all ethnicities and socio-economic situations. Yet very little is really known about food allergy and its effect on New Zealand individuals, families and communities.

Research is badly needed to help with advocacy for improvements in health services; education and resources for patients, families and communities; and funding for vital medicines such as an adrenaline auto-injector for treatment of anaphylaxis. It may also provide valuable information to contribute to world-wide efforts to find a cure.

To meet this need we have established a Food Allergy Research Fund, to enable us to assist and if necessary commission research projects geared towards improving the daily lives of individuals and families.

^{*Based on 62,960 live births registered in the June 2009 Statistics New Zealand; 6-8 per cent of children under the age of five are affected by food allergy according to international research. The 10 per day is the conservative estimate of 6 per cent of children who have food allergy.}

Trade Me Charity Auction - pass it on

To launch the fund we're holding an ongoing series of Trade Me Auctions starting at the end of this month.

Here's how you can join in:

Donate items that can be sold via Trade Me. (See below for more details.)
Make a cash donation, here.
Pass this information on, to the people who most understand and sympathise with the challenge of allergy: your friends and relatives, your workmates, and your neighbours.
Keep an eye on our website and weekly email with Trade Me listings, and make a bid

How to donate items for auction on TradeMe

If you have an item (goods or services) email Sarah on membership@allergy.org.nz or phone 0800 34 0800/09 623 3912 ext 2.

We will need a good photo (better still, two or more, from different angles), a clear description, contact details, and general location of the item (please don't send things to us.)
We'll look after the auction on TradeMe with the help of volunteers around the country.
When your item is sold we'll advise you.
If the item is small enough to courier we'll put that cost on the trade; for larger items we'll ask the buyer to arrange delivery with you: you will not have to pay any shipping charges.