The 24/7 emergency service is always on call
to save lives whenever theyโ€™re needed.
We need to raise $6m each year to provide this critical service.
Your support helps ensure that we can continue to
offer this lifesaving service to our community.

18,000+
life saving rescue missions
24/7 365
days per year
6M+
annual operating cost
730,000
people covered
10 mins
to airborne during the day

When every second counts
your support makes the difference

How you can support us…

Make a Donation

Your contribution today will help us keep this vital service flying, saving the lives of New Zealanders in their time of extreme need!

Become a Corporate Partner

Our business supporters play a vital role in allowing us to support a full-time rescue helicopter service.
Green Crew Scott Adrian Cameron Wayne Stu Kath
chopper appeal 1000 x 1800

Leave a Legacy

When you choose to leave a gift in your will, we guarantee that your generosity will continue to save lives beyond your own lifetime.

Organise a Fundraiser

You can support us by fundraising, we rely on our community to help fund this life-saving Service.
boat winch training
featured-image
โ€œWe donate because we are so thankful that Air Rescue were able to be there to bring me to safety that day.โ€
Bryce
Chemistry Professor, experienced tramper, patient

News and stories from our staff, patients, families and investors that make the difference…

Brent on the hillside with Scott and Matt

Our Stories

Find out how your donations continue to support โ€จCanterbury West Coast Air Rescue.
Website template 750 x 563

Support Us

Donate today and support our lifesaving mission.
Follow us
Need to clear out the cupboards? Or want to pick up some new gear?

The Canterbury Westland branch of the NZ Alpine Club is hosting their annual Buy Sell Night and all proceeds are being donated to the rescue helicopters!

Some epic local businesses are supporting this event and there'll be raffles on the night with some great prizes up for grabs.

See more details at the Facebook event here: https://loom.ly/ig-ycsg

Thank you, NZ Alpine Club - your support of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service is truly amazing.

@canterburywestland_nzac
A simple slip led to a highly technical mission to rescue Christchurch preschool teacher Zoey.

Zoey slipped while on the Rakaia Gorge Walkway in April this year. She ended up being winched 60 metres, through the tree canopy, into the safety of the helicopter.

"๐—˜๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—œ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ผ๐—ณ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ธ, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—บ. ๐—œ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, โ€˜๐—ช๐—ผ๐˜„, ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ท๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐˜€."

Read about Zoey's rescue - see the Patient Stories link in bio.

Do you have a rescue story to share? See the Share Your Story link.
For the second year in a row, Evie has taken on our Back to Base Challenge and once again raised more than $1,000 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopters.

Last year, at just five years old, she completed the challenge over several days. This year, she stepped things up, tackling the full 9km journey from Christchurch Hospital to the helicopter base in one day.

The challenge came with a fierce nor'wester, a scooter to help cover the distance, and even a tumble along the way.

Thankfully, Critical Care Paramedic Pablo and Paramedic Wayne were on hand to help patch up her knee before she got a closer look at the helicopter.

Evie says she'd like to be a helicopter medic when she grows up, and after seeing her determination over the past two years, we'd say she's already showing the qualities needed for the job.

We're incredibly proud of Evie and grateful to everyone who has supported her fundraising journey.

Back to Base may be finished, but donations remain open for one more week. If you'd like to support Evie and all of our amazing participants, there's still time to help us reach our goal.

www.backtobase.co.nz
Your story could help save lives.

People are at the very heart of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter service. Sharing the stories of those who have been rescued helps us highlight the importance of the service and the life-saving difference it makes.

If you've been rescued by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter across Canterbury or the West Coast, we'd love to hear from you.

Send us a message or get in touch through our website. See link in bio.

Join our community of caring people.

Newsletter

Join our community of caring people.By submitting this form, you consent to Air Rescue storing this information and sending you marketing communications. You can unsubscribe at anytime. Read more in ourย Privacy Policy.