He’s Queenstown’s quarter-million dollar man.
At a ‘‘granting ceremony’’ this week, Matt Rose announced he’d beaten the ambitious $250,000 target he’d set himself for a length-of-the-South Island charity walk early this year via the Te Araroa Trail.
He officially raised $255,399 through his mattsgoodwalk.nz website, meaning each of 10 charities he’s chosen to split his fundraising among
are all receiving $25,000.
He and his wife Rachel, third left, are pictured with reps from the four regional charities — from left, John Wikstrom (Wakatipu High School Foundation), Raymond Key (Wakatipu Community Foundation), Peta Carey (Hollyford Conservation Trust) and Craig ‘Ferg’ Ferguson (Bruce Grant Youth Trust).
The other recipient charities are Melanoma New Zealand, Rainbow Youth, Christchurch City Mission, Antarctic Heritage Trust, Braintree Wellness Centre and Champion Foundation Trust.
In announcing his mission, Rose said, in addition to fundraising, he’d been motivated by mental challenges he’d faced.
Asked this week whether he’d been successful, he responded: ‘‘I found what I was looking for, and that was just a complete comfort in being in my own skin.
‘‘It was a very cathartic experience.’’
