Two New Zealand charities received a welcome boost this week, with Forsyth Barr and its clients donating $400,000 honouring the memory of their recently passed Chairman Sir Eion Edgar.
Diabetes New Zealand and the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame both received $200,000 as a result of the Forsyth Barr Charity Brokerage Day.
The amount Forsyth Barr donated includes brokerage received from institutional client transactions undertaken on 1 July, personal contributions from Forsyth Barr staff and a donation by Forsyth Barr on behalf of its broader business.
Both the organisations supported this year were very close to the heart of Sir Eion Edgar, Forsyth Barr’s former Chairman, who passed away two weeks ago following a battle with cancer.
Forsyth Barr Managing Director Neil Paviour-Smith said, “Eion’s generosity in supporting numerous causes was legendary. His financial support and his willingness to be actively involved set a benchmark for philanthropy in New Zealand. We are pleased to honour Eion by supporting two organisations that were very important to him.”
Diabetes New Zealand represents and supports people with diabetes (it’s estimated that 1 in 20 New Zealanders has been diagnosed with the disease). Diabetes New Zealand Chief Executive Heather Verry said, “The reality is that diabetes does not affect the population equally. There are particularly vulnerable groups, and this donation will help enable us to continue our focus on providing a high-level of support to the communities most impacted”.
“Sir Eion was the patron of Diabetes New Zealand, and a very active participant in our work. He had contributed several million dollars to Diabetes research and education over the last 20 years. We’re grateful to Forsyth Barr for building on his support.”
The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1990 with the goal of celebrating New Zealand’s greatest sporting achievers. The current facility was opened in Dunedin in 1999.
Sports Hall of Fame Chairman Stuart McLachlan said ‘‘Sir Eion was both a fanatical sports fan and a proud Dunedinite. He had a very strong belief in the importance of an inspirational NZ Sports Hall of Fame.
“Just before he passed away he donated $500,000 to fund technology development, led by Sir Ian Taylor (the computer graphics innovator and head of Animation Research Limited) with the ambition of creating a world-class, interactive facility. This further donation from Forsyth Barr takes us another step closer to achieving our goal of developing the sports museum New Zealand deserves.”
In announcing the donations, two of Sir Eion Edgar’s sons who work in the institutional business of Forsyth Barr, Jonty Edgar and Adam Edgar, said “we are very grateful for the support of Forsyth Barr’s institutional clients. They have embraced this annual initiative and are the key to making these contributions possible. Dad was hugely generous and would have been so pleased to see these two causes receive this boost through the wonderful support of our clients and staff.”
This is the third charity brokerage day Forsyth Barr has undertaken. Across the three events, Forsyth Barr has now donated over $1m to the selected charities.
