An eye-catching one-off Wellington Phoenix strip has been unveiled in support of Ronald McDonald House Charities New Zealand (RMHC® NZ).
Four families who are staying at RMHC NZ houses in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch have designed the bespoke kit for the Macca’s Match For Good double-header at Hnry Stadium on Saturday, March 14.
The shirts are predominantly white, with yellow sleeves and red trim. Eight hearts, four butterflies and a flower, drawn by the respective families, also feature on the front and back of the tops.
The men’s strip is complemented by white shorts, while the women will wear red.
The Match For Good shirts are available for pre-order from our club store now.
The match-worn shirts from the men’s fixture against Perth Glory and the women’s game against Brisbane Roar will be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to RMHC NZ, whose core mission is to keep families together when their children are in hospitals away from home by providing free accommodation and support.
McDonald’s customers throughout Aotearoa can also donate to RMHC NZ the week of the double-header via kiosks and at the drive-thru, and franchisees will match every donation. On top of that Dynasty will donate 10% from every Match For Good shirt it sells.
Phoenix general manager David Dome says the club is proud to again be supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities New Zealand.
“RMHC NZ are an incredible organisation and it’s great to be able to help raise awareness and funds for them,” Dome said.
“The kits the families have designed look great and our players will be wearing them with pride in their respective matches against Perth and Brisbane.
“Thanks to McDonald’s, we raised 70 thousand dollars for RMHC NZ last year and I’m hoping we can well and truly surpass that figure next month.
“If you’re able to, buy a Match For Good shirt, donate at McDonald’s and support the auction. It’s all for a tremendous cause.”
About some of the families who designed the kit
The Taylor family
The eight hearts on the front of the shirt are designed by the Taylor family from near Kaikōura, where Leanne “Bub” Taylor and her husband Marcus are raising their three daughters: Indiana (Indy), 9, Tessa, 6, and Maria (Ria), 4, on their sheep and beef farm.
Bub spent three months at Ronald McDonald House in Christchurch in 2017 after Indy was born at just 28 weeks, weighing only 900 grams.
She never thought she’d return but during her current pregnancy doctors discovered during her 20-week scans that her cervix was already dilated and her baby was at a serious risk of arriving far too earlier. Bub required immediate surgery for an emergency cerclage – a procedure to help keep the baby safely in place and give them the best possible chance of survival.
Doctors recommended she stay close to Christchurch Hospital for at least a month and because of RMHC NZ the whole family was able to stay under one roof, just minutes from hospital.
The Rosevear family
The four butterflies on the front and back of the shirt became a symbol of joy for the Rosevear family from Dunedin, where parents Jordy and Ryan live with their 19-month-old son Edmund (Eddy) and their dog Ida.
Eddy was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms tumours – cancer in both of his kidneys – during a routine follow-up appointment at Dunedin Hospital where the registrar noticed an enlarged lump in his stomach.
Eddy required an initial course of 12 weeks of chemotherapy at Christchurch Hospital and Jordy and Ryan moved into the nearby Ronald McDonald House.
“We will never forget the kindness by staff when we arrived for the first time at RMHC,” Jordy said. “It meant so much to know the accommodation, amenities and food were largely taken care of.”
The Harper family
The red trim around the collar, sleeves, across the shoulder and down the side of the shirt was inspired by the Harper family from Wellington, where parents Tanya and Mark live with their three sons Oliver, 10, Oscar, 7, and Leo, 5.
The Harpers have spent 303 nights at Ronald McDonald House in Auckland while Oscar has received treatment after being diagnosed with Biliary Atresia – a serious liver condition in infants.
Oscar has had a double liver transplant and is a cancer survivor. The Harpers are long-time Wellington Phoenix supporters so the Macca’s Match For Good double-header means the world to the family.
