January 19 2010

Real men may wear pink, and if Hubbards Cultivation has any say in the matter they will also use pink equipment, in the form of one of its folding Cambridge rollers.

Hubbards Cultivation has made a statement, one it hopes will make a difference.

 The Mid Canterbury based business has painted one of its rollers an eye-catching pink and it is taking it to the 2010 Southern Field Days, held in Waimumu from February 10-12, where it will no doubt feature prominently.

 It is hoped that it will attract enough attention to provoke numerous sales, always a good thing, but even more so when $1000 from each roller sold will be going to The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF).

 Business co-owner Ian Prime was exploring novel and attention grabbing ideas for Hubbards’ Southern Field Days site, and had the thought of painting one of its rollers a bright pink.

 Further discussion saw the idea evolve and the connection to The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation was a natural one.

 With one in nine New Zealanders affected by breast cancer, Ian and co-owner Vince Rietveld decided to donate $1000 from every Hubbards Roller sold for the entire month of February to NZBCF.

 “We knew painting one of our rollers pink would attract attention and thought it would be a great way to defer some of that attention towards a great cause,” Mr Rietveld said.

 “It’s a cause that is close to the heart of both Ian and Vince, with Ian losing his mother to lung cancer seven years ago and Vince’s mother succumbing to breast cancer 10 years ago. As soon as we thought pink we realised how great it could be for NZBCF. Charities really suffer when times are hard, so it would be brilliant to generate a significant contribution and increase awareness of the cause,” Mr Prime said.

 Having donated at various times in the past, the Hubbards team is looking forward to applying this much more direct approach.

 The Southern Field Days are a major agricultural event held every two years in Waimumu, near Gore.

 Executive trustee of the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, Heather Shotter was impressed with Hubbards’ initiative.

 “It is great to see a business driving awareness of breast cancer at the grass roots level in local communities. This eye-catching roller is an original device to highlight the incidence of breast cancer in women, and in men, as 20 men per year are diagnosed with the disease in New Zealand,” she said.

 During the three-day event Hubbards will also be running a competition.

 For $1 entrants can suggest a quote or tag-line that supports the pink roller.

 All entries go into a draw to receive a $250 Hubbards voucher and all proceeds will be added to the funds gathered from roller sales and go direct to NZBCF.

Pictured: Hubbards’ owners, Vince Rietveld (left) and Ian Prime with their fundraising pink roller.