Our Purpose
The SOHST is a charitable Trust that has been established to provide financial assistance for healthcare services and related items via a voucher system for people of limited financial means.
How it all came together
Health professionals in the Clutha District identified that some clients/patients were unable to access medical and wellbeing services owing to financial constraints. Intensive research and many discussions with stakeholders led to the South Otago Health Support Trust being officially set up in 2012. Raewyn Snell our current Chair was a driving force behind this.
The South Otago Health Support Trust was incorporated with the Companies Office as a registered Charitable Trust on the 10th of May 2013. The Trusts’ number is 2579884.
The Purpose of the South Otago Health Support Trust
The SOHST as a charitable Trust was established for the purpose of providing financial assistance to access healthcare services and related items to people of limited financial means via a voucher system.
Who Is On The South Otago Health Support Trust
The Trust is made up of 6 Trustees with the appropriate skill mix, many of whom are employed in the Health and Wellbeing sector.
Trustees meet monthly and communicate frequently by email as matters arise. The Trust employs an administrator.
Our Trustees
Raewyn Snell
Raewyn was brought up in the South Otago community completing her schooling locally and then went onto complete a Diploma in Nursing in 1988 at Otago Polytechnic. Raewyn has practiced as a Public Health Nurse for the Southern District Health Board since 1994 in the Clutha District. Raewyn is married with two children. Raewyn has been involved in a variety of volunteering roles over the years, but more recently coaching her children’s sport and ongoing input of The Kaka Point Directory. Raewyn within her role as a Public Health Nurse identified the need to form The South Otago Health Support Trust and secured the initial funding for this to occur in 2012. In her spare time Raewyn enjoys horse riding and mountain biking and spending time with her children and their various activities.
Chairperson
Chris Shaw
Chris has lived in the Clutha Valley area for most of her life attending Clutha Valley Primary School and South Otago High School. After studying at (the then) Dunedin Teachers College and Otago University, she returned to Clutha Valley where she taught for many years in a fulltime then part time and relief role. Chris and her husband, Garth, farm at Wharetoa and have had active community involvement over the years. They have three adult children and five grandchildren who do not live locally. Chris’s interests centre around the farm and family, and the community. She enjoys interaction with elderly folk, loves babies and children, and animals and enjoys meeting members of our migrant community. She believes that in order to care for our vulnerable, particularly children, we need to care for carers. Chris became a SOHST Trustee in 2022. She strongly believes that healthcare should be accessible to all regardless of barriers and feels that SOHST is positively proactive in assisting to overcome some of these barriers.
TrusteeLee-Anne Michelle
Lee-Anne was raised in Timaru before moving to Dunedin in 1993. She studied and worked in Dunedin before settling in Milton in 2001. Lee-Anne is a Financial Mentor and manager of the Clutha Budget Advisory Service / Food Hub. Alongside a Graduate Diploma in Not for Profit Management, Lee-Anne has completed the NZ Certificate in Health & Wellbeing (Community). Lee-Anne has strong links to her local community raising three children and holding volunteer roles in several organisations over the years. Lee-Anne’s interests include gardening, reading and exploring Otago & Southland’s scenery.
TrusteeAlister Frengley
Whilst brought up in Christchurch, completing a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, Alister’s family has a connection to South Otago going back several generations. After managing State housing in Otago and Southland, he moved into the legal area managing District Courts in Otago and Southland for many years. Now based in the small community at Taieri Mouth, he has recently moved into the Health sector managing the Otago/Southland area for a large private company delivering homebased customer care. In his spare time Alister enjoys home building projects, fishing and has recently become immersed in genealogy.
TrusteeKate Flett-Scott
TrusteeKate grew up in South Otago and has a background in early childhood teaching. She now works as a Whānau Worker with Anglican Family Care, supporting parents and whānau through the Family Start contract in South Otago. In her role, Kate works alongside families to strengthen parenting confidence, build on existing strengths, and support the wellbeing, safety, learning, and development of tamariki. She brings a warm, practical, and relationship-focused approach to her mahi, grounded in empathy, respect, and a commitment to helping whānau feel connected, capable, and supported.
Kate is also a proud mum of five school-aged children, giving her a strong understanding of the everyday realities, joys, and challenges of family life. Alongside her husband, she helps run a family business and is actively involved in a range of community groups and boards.
Eileen Rudolph
Eileen and her husband immigrated to New Zealand from South Africa in 2018 to join their daughter and son who immigrated some years earlier. She now has 5 kiwi grandchildren. Eileen owned her own business in South Africa for 22 years, administering a bursary scheme for a multi-national company for students who had the potential to succeed at tertiary education but without financial assistance, would not be able to do so. She feels privileged to have been given the position of administrator for the SOHST and is proud to be a part of this worthy organization. Eileen enjoys travelling and spending time with her family in her spare time.
Administrator