And the Winners Are… 🏆✨
By Veronica Shale, Chief Cheerleader, Dry July NZ Trust on
We’re wrapping up Dry July 2025 with a big round of applause - not just for our incredible prize winners, but for every single person who donated, entered, and supported this year’s challenge. Thanks to your generosity, together we raised over $775,000 to provide comfort, care, and support for New Zealanders affected by cancer. Whether you gave a dollar, shared the challenge with your mates, donated a prize, or cheered someone on – you’ve helped make a difference.
%204.png)
Our Incredible Prize Winners
Fridge Full of Non-Alcs (2 winners)
Thanks to our friends at Panasonic NZ, The Chiller Alcohol-Free Drink Store and No Ugly, two lucky Dry Julyers will have their summer stocked with refreshing alcohol-free drinks.
Winners: Trent Johnson, Opua, Bay of...
WHY WE DRY JULY: Clare Tupuola on her cancer journey and support
By Tagata Pasifika - The Pacific Voice On New Zealand Television Since 1987 on
Watch Clare's story here in her own words - the toll and the quiet gifts that are Look Good Feel Better cancer support services funded by Dry Julyers.
“Look, I think it’s just getting up that I’m grateful for,” – Clare Tupuola on her cancer journey
Samoan woman battling cancer credits faith and family for helping her through the mental anguish.
Cancer patient Clare Tupuola wants to give encouragement and support to those who suffer from the “late effects” of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.
Clare speaks from experience, she is currently undergoing her second bout of chemotherapy.
In 2023 she was diagnosed with incurable cancer.
“It was pretty devastating and it was quiet, it was a bit of a process,” she says.
“So...
WHY I DRY JULY: Dr Kevin Pringle “So far, all of my family who have died have died of cancer”
By Dr Kevin Pringle on
"It’s not a pretty story – but it’s one that motivates me to make a difference."
At 78 years old, Dr Kevin Pringle knows cancer all too well. The retired paediatric surgeon and medical researcher from Whitianga has lost six family members to the disease – including both parents, three brothers, and his beloved wife Carol, who died of leukaemia in 2022 after 54 years of marriage.
This year marks Kevin’s third Dry July, and for him, it’s personal.
“So far, all of my family who have died have died of cancer,” Kevin shares.
His story spans decades of loss – from his eldest brother Peter, who died of colon cancer at just 45, to his youngest brother Allan, who passed away in 2008 from a lung carcinoma. His parents, George and Valerie, died of...
WHY WE DRY JULY: Clare - How mindfulness, makeup & family rituals gave Aucklander Clare her life back
By Dry July NZ + Look Good Feel Better on
When Aucklander Clare was diagnosed with incurable cancer, everything changed. A natural organiser who juggled work, volunteering, and family commitments, she suddenly found herself in unfamiliar territory: needing support herself.
“You lose a bit of your identity,” Clare says.
“You're going to have good and bad days, and it’s about finding tools to help you through it. Mental health is so important - you have to give yourself compassion.”
That’s where Look Good Feel Better came in. Thanks to funding from Dry July, Clare was able to access free wellbeing classes, from mindfulness and breathing sessions to makeup tutorials and hair regrowth advice — all tailored to people facing cancer.
“I may look well from the outside, but I’m still...
Take It From Us with Kent Johns Podcast - Lisa McDonald & Veronica Shale: Why we're giving up alcohol
By Kent Johns on
Take It From Us with Kent Johns Podcast
LISTEN HERE - Lisa McDonald & Veronica Shale: Why we're giving up alcohol. ABOUT: This powerful episode shares breast cancer survivor Lisa McDonald’s story and how Dry July-funded services helped her through treatment. Dry July NZ Campaign Director Veronica Shale explains how the movement has raised over $11 million to support Kiwis with cancer. A heartfelt reminder that small acts of support can make a big difference.
Life after cancer is tough, but there’s a way through By Lou James, Founder of PINC & STEEL
By Lou James, Founder of PINC & STEEL New Zealand Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation on
For many people, finishing cancer treatment feels like it should mark the end of a difficult chapter. But for some, it’s only the start of a new one: rebuilding their life.
Cancer often leaves more than physical scars; it can fundamentally change a person’s life, even long after remission. But while the emotional and physical impact can run deep, rehabilitation offers a way through. With the right support, people don’t just recover, they can learn to live again.
Putting your body back together after invasive treatment, carrying the invisible trauma of what some describe as a betrayal by their own body and feeling isolated from those who haven’t been through the same thing - these are the quiet, often overlooked parts of the cancer...
Letters: July may be the perfect month to go sober
By Veronica Shale, NZ Herald 1 July 2025 on
Letters: July may be the perfect month to go sober
Letters to the Editor
We read your editorial over a hot cuppa (not mulled wine – promise) and appreciated the straight-up take.
You’re right, July isn’t the easiest time to give up alcohol. It’s cold, it’s rugby season and comfort is king – but that’s exactly why it works.
Dry July is meant to be a challenge, a small sacrifice in support of the 2,200 New Zealanders who this month alone will hear the words “you have cancer” and are going through one of the hardest times of their lives.
The campaign started in 2008 with three Aussie mates raising funds for a mate in hospital. No slick branding or big strategy, just people doing something for someone they cared about. That story and spirit is...
Giving up for a good cause - Anne Fenwick wants to raise awareness of the programme that helped her during cancer fight
By Timaru Herald on
Sign up or donate at dryjuly.co.nz for cancer support services across Aotearoa. You'll be proud you did.
How paddle boarding funded by dry july helped cancer survivor find her feet again
By Deena Coster, The Post / Taranaki Daily News June 23, 2025 on
See The Post June 2025
How paddleboarding helped cancer survivor find her feet again
After a shock cancer diagnosis, Judy Armstrong has nothing but praise for how a rehabilitation charity helped her find her feet again.
At the age of 64, Armstrong was diagnosed with bowel cancer and was confronted with the need to undergo radiation, chemotherapy and surgery in short order, and then wear a stoma bag for eight months.
The diagnosis came out of the blue for the Waitara woman, who had none of the usual symptoms associated with the disease.
The only inkling something was amiss was the desperate urge she had to go to the toilet while out training one day for a marathon.
While she navigated her intensive treatment thanks to the support of family,...