Cure Kids Ambassadors Present at Qantas Film and Television Awards 2009

Cure Kids Ambassadors Alex and Lizzie McKay are welcomed onto the red carpet.	Lizzie McKay, Vicki Lee (Cure Kids CEO), Grant Lilly (Qantas Regional General Manager)and Alex McKay

The cream of New Zealand’s film and television industries were celebrated on Saturday night at a glittering gala event in the Civic Theatre, Auckland.

More than 750 guests, including Prime Minister Hon John Key and our Cure Kids Ambassadors Alex and Lizzie McKay and their family, Angela Bishop our Fundraising Account Manager and our CEO Vicki Lee enjoyed celebrating the 39 Qantas Film and Television Awards being presented across news and current affairs, general television, documentary, and film categories.

Guests at Saturday nights gala event included film directors Niki Caro and Gaylene Preston, actors Karl Urban and Lucy Lawless, and other luminaries from the New Zealand film and television community, with entertainment provided by the Topp Twins.

Qantas Regional General Manager New Zealand and Pacific Grant Lilly also applauded the winners at this year’s awards. “Qantas is very proud to join with the New Zealand Television Broadcasters’ Council and the Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand in recognising the best and brightest of New Zealand’s creative industries.  I congratulate not only the winners, but all the finalists, for their contribution to ensuring New Zealand continues to have thriving film and television industries”

Grant Lilly also said in his opening speech “I would like to conclude by taking the opportunity to acknowledge our chosen charity, Cure Kids.  Qantas has had a long relationship with Cure Kids, which is the face of the Child Health Research Foundation, raising much needed funds to continue research into serious child health diseases.  Thank you to all of you who have chosen to give a donation to Cure Kids as part of your ticket this evening”

Shortly after Grant Lilly spoke of how they are pleased to support  Cure Kids it was on to the stage for Alex and Lizzie to present the award for Best Children’s/Youth Programme – And the Winner - Rachel Jean for Play it Strange 2008.

Alex and Lizzie also had the opportunity to share their story...

"Alex and I were invited to present at these Qantas Awards 4 years ago. It’s taken a while, but thanks for inviting us back!
Our story hasn’t changed – we still have Cystic Fibrosis, an incurable and degenerative condition, which mainly affects the lungs and digestive system. When we were born, the life expectancy for children with CF, was 16 years - we turned 18 a few weeks ago! The life expectancy in NZ is now around 30, and that improvement is because of new medications and treatments that have been researched and developed with the huge input of organisations like Cure Kids."

" Lizzie and I first became Cure Kids Ambassadors in 2004 and since then, with the wonderful support of Qantas, we have had the most amazing experiences, ranging from the Ticket to Hope in Queenstown, to golfing on some of the best courses in New Zealand, including Michael Hill’s, and taking the inaugural flight on the Qantas A380. We’ve even been extras on Shortland Street! We’ve had a lot of fun in our roles as ambassadors, but Cure Kids are very serious about what they do, and that is funding research to find cures for illnesses that affect children and young adults. AND THEY GET RESULTS..
Cure Kids motto is “turning research into hope”, and that is what Cure Kids, with the help of fantastic supporters like Qantas, does for Lizzie and me – they give us hope."

Thanks Qantas... What a magical evening!

Qantas gives Ambassadors the Thrill of their Lives...

Thanks to Qantas, three Cure Kids ambassadors got the thrill of their lives at the recent Fisher & Paykel International Netball Series against England. Qantas kindly arranged for our girls to take the balls onto court in Auckland, Wellington and Invercargill. Leah, Neida and Sophie proudly did the honours and were delighted to meet their heroes and be so close to the action!

Qantas critters the Kiwi and the Koala also made an appearance, while Qantas staff collected for Cure Kids amongst the crowd, exchanging a gold coin donation for a bag of Qantas jet planes! Sounds like a fair trade.

Thanks Qantas!