Young or old, we seem to have a special affinity with bunnies.

There's the Easter Bunny, Bugs Bunny, Peter Rabbit, Nutbrown Hare of ‘Guess How Much I Love You' fame and Roger Rabbit from the 1988 film ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit'.

Our love of the little fluffy creatures should, therefore, ensure that this year's Waipuna Hospice fundraising tea towel flies off the shelves.

Local artist Mandy Williams has once again donated one of her designs to the annual fundraiser – a bunny by the name of ‘white wabbit'.

The high-quality cotton tea towels will be on sale for $14 each from next week at all Hospice shops and the Waipuna Hospice website www.waipuna-hospice.co.nz as well as a few other retail outlets around Tauranga.

About 25 volunteers attended a ‘foldathon' recently to package up the 2500 tea towels. Ten dollars from each tea towel will go to hospice.

Communications manager Ingrid Hennessey says the tea towels are a perfect size to pop in the post and will make a nice little ‘thank you' gift.

The tea towel fundraiser – now in its fifth year – is one of many fundraisers Waipuna Hospice is involved in each year to come up with the $2.7 million it needs to meet the shortfall between its government funding and operating costs.

Waipuna Hospice provides specialist medical care for Western Bay of Plenty people living with a life-limiting illness, as well as providing support services for their families. This year it expects to care for about 1000 patients.