23 February 2026
Last December Danielle Fifita did something she never thought she’d do. She took to the stage at her local gym and allowed her beautiful, long hair to be shaved off. The mother of two and doctor from Whangārei Hospital had always kept her hair long. But she wanted to do something impactful to raise funds and awareness for Harbour Hospice.
Her ‘Hairless for Hospice’ event, held in honour of her mother, Elizabeth Apiata, who died in our care in May 2024, took place at a CrossFit gym where Danielle is a regular. It raised just over $6700 for Harbour Hospice - significantly more than she thought she’d raise.
“It was overwhelming and so beautiful to see lots of different communities coming together,” Danielle says. “All the love, support, messages, kōrero and hugs from everyone had me in tears!” As a doctor, Danielle knew about hospice before Elizabeth began receiving hospice care, and she’d referred patients to its specialist services. But it wasn’t until her mum was part of Harbour Hospice’s fold that she realised just how unique and compassionate those services were.
“As a doctor, I expected that I would be able to do everything for Mum. But hospice allowed my sister Moana and me to just be her daughters, and that was such a gift. We could just hold Mum and witness her being cared for so beautifully and respectfully. The nurses always talked to her and explained what they were doing. It was beautiful to watch.”
Danielle’s fundraiser took place 18 months after her mother died - testament to how deeply touched people are by our care, and how connected to hospice they remain long after someone has died.
“We can’t put a price on the care and love hospice showed Mum and our whānau during the most difficult of times,” Danielle says. “Hospice meant so much to Mum, and it will always hold a special place in our hearts. My wish is that the money raised will help ensure that the beautiful team can continue to provide the same care to other whānau.
“In the last two years of Mum’s life, hospice provided in-home reviews, round-the-clock phone call advice, they arranged urgent doctor reviews/scans, transport to appointments and social groups, respite care in the Inpatient Unit, they even helped us arrange our last celebration of Mum’s beautiful life for her 60th birthday. The most special gift of all was allowing us to care for our mum in her last week of life the way we wanted to, within their space.”
It was during that week that Danielle decided she’d raise funds and awareness for Harbour Hospice. “Just through talking with the nurses and asking, ‘How do you get your funding?’, I was gobsmacked when they told me that hospice only receives around half of its funding from the Government. I was amazed they could continue to operate.”
It's thanks to the support of individuals and families like Danielle’s that hospice can continue to provide free specialist care to local families. While Health New Zealand funds 49% of our operating costs, we rely heavily on the support of our community to raise an additional $10 million each year to cover the shortfall. We need our community as much as our community needs us. Danielle says she was humbled to see her fundraiser sparked many conversations about hospice in her community. “Lots of our whānau - and I think Māori and Pacific people in general - don’t know what hospice does, or the impact it has in the community. It was a full wraparound support system for Mum, and hospice never failed to show her the utmost respect, love and care. A service like this is vital in our community.”
