Family and community to support Dave on bucket list fundraiser

BY JULIA WADE

13 Feb, 2023

A local Mini-mad man has been selected by organisers of a national fundraiser to represent Mangawhai in an epic journey which will see him touring the cross-country route of an iconic NZ movie while helping out struggling kiwi kids.

Leabourn passenger Services school bus driver and local Dave Henderson, along with co-pilot son Mark, will be driving their ‘lightning fast and gloriously red 2009 Mini Cooper ‘Hazel H’’ in the 2023 Pork Pie Charity Run. The week-long 2500km fun fundraising road trip aims to raise hundreds of thousands of much-needed dollars for KidsCan, one of the country’s most recognised agencies for supporting NZ children living in hardship.

Dave says already the fundraising event ‘is going gangbusters’.

“I’m very humbled by the support shown, especially by those here in Mangawhai. My friends are all checking in with one another to see if they have donated, ha.” he says. “So far, $5000 has been raised already for KidsCan, it’s a great charity, I support it in every which way, when you think of a child getting a brand-new raincoat that they’ve never had before, its rewarding that we can make a practical difference.”

Departing Paihia on the early morning of March 3, the convoy will stop at various townships along the way, with the first break in North Waikato at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, ‘where some drivers who have special Mini Coopers will get a chance to do a blat around the course’, before moving on to Taupo for dinner, with a final ETA in Invercargill on April 5.

Up to 50 Mini’s of all sorts and styles will be trekking along the same route roughly based on the 1981 kiwi adventure/comedy film, ‘Goodbye Pork Pie’, about a national man-hunt and the hilarious mishaps of the Blondini Gang, who ‘borrow’ a Mini in Kaitaia and manage to allude police on an epic road trip to the deep South.

Held every two years, the inaugural Run of 36 Minis set off in 2009, and to date, the seven events have raised over $1 million dollars for organisations and charities like Starship Hospital, Leukaemia & Blood Cancer NZ and KidsCan.

As a Mini-lover, owning nine over 50 years (‘In the late Sixties, you could drive fast in a Mini, it would stay on the road where others seemed to fall over’), as well as being a big fan of the movie, Dave says entering the Run has been on his bucket list for some time.

“It’s not easy to get in though, very popular, you have to put your hand up and wait to see if you’re chosen, its well and truly over-subscribed.”

With a whanau support crew, Team Hendo, Dave and Mark will be joined along the road by family members with partner Karen writing social media updates for followers of the venture while on the North Island trek, before flying to Christchurch to meet with family. Oldest daughter, Amanda, who is co-ordinating her Dad’s Run from Sydney Australia, will meet up with the family in Queenstown to celebrate post-event, for Easter.

Dave’s mother will also have a presence, as ‘Hazel H’ was named after ‘the matriarch of the Henderson clan, the late Hazel Henderson, who drove a red Mini for most of her life.’

Naturally, local businesses are stepping in with support, with automotive and marine business Jackson Brown donating $5 from every WOF they service through January, February and March to KidsCan and ‘making sure the car will get to Invercargill’, as well as The Mangawhai Club, who have already gifted an undisclosed sum to the team’s fundraising page.

Team Hendo are also boosting their fundraising efforts with several events, including a screening of the Pork Pie film at Mangawhai Movies on February 24, a sausage sizzle outside Bunnings on February 25 and a ‘mini Mini’ drive from Mangawhai to Parua Bay Tavern, Whangarei, for lunch on March 11.

“Get in quick because numbers are limited,” Dave says. “Teams are encouraged to engage their community in the name of fun and making as big a difference as possible by raising funds for KidsCan. Our goal is to raise $10,000, wouldn't that be amazing – and we’re already halfway there.”

n To follow the adventures of Team Hendo’s Pork Pie Run and to donate, visit porkpiecharityrun.org.nz/page/HazelH

Ticking a fundraising adventure off his bucket list, Dave Henderson (who has a passion for Mini's, pies, and the great open road) and ‘Hazel H’ are Mangawhai’s representatives in this years Pork Pie Charity Run. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

“I’m very humbled by the support shown, especially by those here in Mangawhai.”

- Dave Henderson