The Mad Butcher, aka Peter Leitch, threw his weight behind Allergy Awareness Week 13-19 May by mobilising all his stores across the country to take part in a fundraising campaign.

Each Mad Butcher store was armed with collection buckets to raise funds for Allergy New Zealand.

“Not long ago, I would have asked, what’s the big deal about allergies?” explains Mr Leitch. “That was until my grandson Reuben was diagnosed with life-threatening food allergies. His condition is so severe that he could die within 15 minutes if he comes into contact with the tiniest amount of peanuts, eggs or milk products.”

Mr Leitch is Allergy New Zealand’s ambassador and is passionate about the cause.

“I have taken many hits in life, but this one really floored me. We all live with the fear that he may have a life-threatening reaction, and it feels as though we are sitting on a time bomb. This anxiety can be crippling.”

That was until his family joined Allergy New Zealand.

Fundraising through the Mad Butcher stores was one of many activities that took place during the week. Peter Leitch spoke on radio up and down the country, promoting the organisation and urging people to empty their pockets. Articles appeared in major and community newspapers, and allergy awareness was also featured on radio morning shows. Allergy New Zealand’s chief executive Penny Jorgensen appeared on TV One’s Breakfast programme.

Mr Leitch issued a challenge to all companies to participate in a Red Alert day on Friday 18 May, when employees could turn up in mufti if they made a donation to Allergy New Zealand.

But well before Allergy Awareness Week kicked off, he had already been busy organising a corporate luncheon at Sails Restaurant at Auckland’s Westhaven Marina to raise awareness. This was held a week before.

Newstalk ZB’s morning host Leighton Smith was the master of ceremonies and, along with getting quite a few laughs, informed the crowd of his sulfa drugs allergy.
Murray Deaker was the special guest speaker and entertained the crowd with his reminiscences of his early days in radio, and his memorable sports interviews for Sky TV.

The afternoon was not all about entertainment, though. Donna Whittle, whose brother, Grant Freeman, had an anaphylactic reaction at a restaurant and died in April, spoke of the dangers of allergies. Penny Jorgensen then provided more information on the prevalence of allergies and the difficulty in living with them.

“The time and effort Peter has put into promoting Allergy New Zealand is truly humbling,” says Penny. “”He spent the last couple of weeks promoting us at every opportunity on radio and in print, he organised this successful lunch, and now he has raised thousands of dollars for us.

“We can’t thank him enough for his generosity.”