Give Help This Christmas: Ways and Places to Pay It Forward

Christmas can be a difficult time for many families struggling with the current cost of living crisis.

But a number of New Zealand charities are working hard to ensure they can still celebrate a special day on December 25.

Here are some options for the public to pay it forward this Christmas, if they are able to do so.

Kindness Collective

The Kindness Collective for 11 years, helping children have a special Christmas, providing gifts to more than 42,000 children.

On its website, the Kindness Collective said more than 160,000 children in New Zealand were living in poverty and families were struggling “more than ever”.

She had created the Christmas Joy Store, offering “the gift of kindness and the dignity of choice.”

It allowed parents and guardians to choose free gifts and treats for their children off the shelf.

The Kindness Collective said a $20 donation will get a child a toy, a $50 donation will help stock the fridge and a $100 donation will include pantry staples, treats, food for Christmas Day and three toys per child.

Christmas box

Christmas box helps deliver essential food items to more than 200,000 people each year in New Zealand, Australia and the Cook Islands.

The aim was to pack 35,000 Christmas boxes for people in New Zealand and the Cook Islands by December 25.

On its website, Christmas Box said Kiwi families were facing big challenges and many were struggling to make ends meet.

He said a donation of $40 could help those most in need this Christmas, with 100 per cent of donations going towards feeding families.

Call for the Kmart wish tree

Kmart Call to the wishing tree is again this year, with different ways for people to help others this Christmas.

People could give gifts or give money in store. Kmart said gifts don’t have to be purchased at its store and are best kept unwrapped.

People could also donate online through its website.

Kmart said the gifts would be collected by the Salvation Army who would help deliver them to families in need.

The warehouse

The warehouse is supporting a number of charities this year in the hope of giving Kiwis in need a special Christmas.

On its website, The Warehouse said Christmas was “undoubtedly a wonderful time of year, but it could also be a difficult time for Kiwi families living in hardship”.

Until December 24, shoppers at The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery and Noel Leeming could make a donation with a purchase.

“It’s that simple,” said The Warehouse.

Variety – Children’s Charity

Variety said it “urgently” needs to put food on the tables of more than 12,800 children this Christmas, with more than 7,000 of them still waiting.

“More than 5,000 letters have been responded to, but we still have a way to go for children like eight-year-old Isabell who could go hungry this year without your help,” its website says.

“Isabell never has special food, no matter what day of the year it is. Her mother, grandmother, and three siblings barely make ends meet, and by the end of the week, there isn’t enough food to go around. Instead, she colors in pictures of gingerbread men, a roast turkey, and vegetables, and I daydream about what it would be like. eat a festive feast.”

Members of the public were able to donate on Variety’s website to help provide food to Kiwis in need.

It says a donation of $48 will give a child a day of “tasty food,” $82 will give a family of two a day full of food, $194 will give a child a week’s worth of “tasty food” and $462 will feed a family of four during Christmas week.

Christmas shoe box

In operation since 2018, the Christmas Shoebox Project is making sure New Zealand’s children receive a Christmas box full of special and essential items.

The boxes contain something to love, like a teddy bear or toy, something to read, like a book or magazine, something to wear, like a hat or pajamas, something to play with, like a frisbee or a skipping rope, something for school, like a pencil case or a book, and something they need, like a toothbrush or shampoo.

Its website states that a donation of $15 will contribute to a Christmas shoebox, a donation of $75 will fill one box, a donation of $150 will give a box to two children each and a donation of $450 will give a family boxes filled with gifts.

The Salvation Army Food Bank Project

Members of the public can help feed a family this Christmas by donating to The food bank project.

“In our modern world, Christmas can put increased pressure on already struggling families. For families who can barely afford to survive, Christmas can be a turning point when they need help to put food on the table. the table and give gifts to the children,” he explains. says the website.

“Across New Zealand, there are many more families who urgently need your support this Christmas. Small things can mean a lot to families.”

The Food Bank Project said a $30 donation could provide a small roast meal parcel, a $60 donation could provide a medium roast meal parcel and a $90 donation could provide a large roast meal parcel .

Kiwi Christmas Books

Kiwi Christmas Books helps children in need receive new books for Christmas.

“We believe good books help build good people, which is why every year we put thousands of quality Kiwi books into the hands of tamariki and rangatahi whose families cannot afford to buy their own or who have difficulty accessing quality literature in general,” its website states.

People could buy a book to donate and ship to Kiwi Christmas Books’ Auckland address, donate a book online and have it shipped to the charity or purchase a Books Christmas card of $30 to give to someone, while giving a child a brand new book in the process.

Christmas appeal for spaceships

Spacecraft said Christmas is a special time for children – “they really are the heart of the season”.

He said the hospital helps children get well enough to go home for Christmas, and it needs the public’s help to do that.

“For some children, Starship is the place they need to be, even at Christmas, and your support helps us provide the world-class pediatric care these children urgently need.”

He said a $50 donation could help fund support for a play specialist in Starship’s radiology department, $100 could help its air ambulance bring children to hospital for life-threatening care. specialized emergency services and $200 could help support research on children suffering from respiratory illnesses.

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