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.

20251121_134020
Mission 2026 is raising funds to buy, transport and commission three H145 helicopters.
18,000+
life saving rescue missions
24/7 365
days per year
6M+
annual operating cost
720,000
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.
image 11 portrait
image 9 (1)

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.
full size image
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
Zack's got a great way of describing what it's like being a paramedic on a big rescue job.

"๐—œ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚โ€™๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜† ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฎ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฏ ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚โ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜†๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ณ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜€๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜† ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ธ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ โ€“ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜."

We chat to Zack about his journey to becoming a paramedic, what made him join the NZ Army Reserve Force (one of only a few soldiers on the West Coast), and his job on the West Coast Rescue Helicopter.

Read more here: https://www.airrescue.co.nz/stories/meet-zack/

Or see the link to stories from the crew on our Linktree
Brian is nearing the finish line of the Rescue Warriors ride - he's currently coming up to Knights Point in South Westland.

Waiting for him in Bluff is his family, who have supported his ride 100%.

"๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฒโ€™๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€, ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ. ๐—œ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜€, ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ผ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜€.โ€

Read Brian's story here: https://www.airrescue.co.nz/stories/brian-ellis-rescue-warrior-twelve/

Or see the Rescue Warriors link on our Linktree
It's not often this team get in front of the camera, but if anything can make it happen it's this incredible kit gifted to us from @deaneapparelnz.

An enormous thank you to Deane Apparel for providing branded shirts and jackets for the team at the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust. 

Whether we're attending events, hosting events, or showing guests around the GCH Aviation Air Rescue Base, we'll wear this gear with pride.

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.