Verve’s monthly round up of what’s new, interesting, and happening… in a paragraph!
Toy Stories
“Like Christmas every fortnight”, a toy library serves as a space parents or carers can visit to borrow toys, puzzles, and games for their little ones. From building imagination and creativity, to fostering cognitive, emotional, and behavioural growth, and encouraging independence, play is vital to a child’s development: toys aren’t just fun, they’re educational tools to boot! However, any parent of a young child knows how easily kids tire of their toys – a toy library is a highly affordable, convenient, and environmentally friendly solution. Different libraries have different policies, but membership is usually around $200 per year, with options to have the fee significantly reduced or even waived in exchange for volunteering at the library for a couple of hours three or four times a year.
For more information about these excellent community services, how you can support them, and to find your nearest one, visit toylibrary.co.nz.
Christmas Angels
As well as providing shelter and medical consultations for thousands in need, in the year to December 2022, Auckland City Mission delivered 49,406 food parcels – the equivalent of 2.38 million meals. “The pallets of tinned food can weigh up to 800kg and that can get a bit tricky,” says warehouse senior storeperson Hamish Hippolite, “but I honestly love this work. We’re a small team and it’s imperative that we work together so everyone pitches in and it’s a great vibe.” The festive period can be even tougher for those already experiencing hardship, and Aucklanders are invited to become someone’s Christmas angel by organising a food and gift collection, ordering online gifts to be delivered directly to tamariki, or setting up an online donation page for gifts with options to share with coworkers, suppliers, and customers and even set up gift matching to allow your employer to match all donations made.
You’ll find all the information you need at aucklandcitymission.org.nz/aucklands-angels.
Fulfilling Festivities
World-leading keynote speaker, best-selling author, thought leader, mental health expert, and growth coach, Tracey Horton, from Australia, has offered some much-needed advice and lifehacks around removing the stress this Christmas. “With so many people under pressure to buy expensive items and lots of gifts, we can lose track of what really matters in life, and that is caring for and loving each other,” says Tracey. “We are so busy that we don’t get to spend quality time with each other. Instead of spending lots of money on exorbitant gifts, give the gift of time.” She suggests giving ‘time vouchers’ to loved ones and embrace the likes of good old-fashioned cards and board games. It’s also, she adds, important to clear out unused toys, include practical gifts to teach kids that gift giving is about “giving what people need rather than everything they want”, and, perhaps most importantly, to help others more in need. “We choose a family in our community, and we all give them a Christmas,” says Tracey. “The kids get right into it and it is always so special as the recipients are always so grateful.”
Pitch Perfect
Kiwi Kids for Causes is a wonderful, warm-hearted group of children aged 6-13 who use their voices, quite literally, to help fund important causes. Each year, the 50-strong group of kind kids create cover albums for various fundraisers, and this year it’s for brain cancer support and research. Unfortunately, it’s a cause close to the kids’ hearts as one of the children has a mother with brain cancer, and another two lost cousins to the disease. The upcoming album, Brain Storm, will be released on 16 December; check it out, along with their previous release, on Spotify, Apple or YouTube Music. You can also follow them on Instagram @kiwikidsforcauses_music.
To find out more about this inspirational group, visit linkin.bio/kiwikidsforcause.
Cruising with Care
Way back in 1983, a team first took a group of disabled kids to the cinema, establishing the charity Koru Care. Within a couple of years of fundraising, they had enough to take a group of youngsters to the UK where they visited Buckingham Palace and Coronation Street. From raffles to garage sales, today, the organisation continues to raise funds to make ill and disabled kids’ dreams come true with overseas trips to the likes of Disneyland, accompanied by their caregivers, volunteers, and registered nurses. Each year, Koru Care also throws a Christmas party for over 250 children by way of a two-hour cruise around Waitematā Harbour, with entertainment taking the shape of things like tugboat water fights and Eagle police helicopter fly-bys. But of course, it’s the visit from Santa that creates the biggest buzz!
Find out more, including how to donate, at korucare.co.nz.
Making Kids Feel Special
Established in 1998, Special Children’s Christmas Parties is an organisation dedicated to “giving special Kiwi children aged 3-12, their families, and caregivers, a spectacular day to remember” by way of feasts, fun games, celebrity shows, and more. Whatever difficulties the children may be experiencing – whether it be life-threatening illness, physical or intellectual impairment, domestic violence, or living in underprivileged circumstances – this charity ensures that a smile is put on their faces at the most magical time of the year. Over the past 25 years, they’ve helped nearly 200,000 kids, by way of 140 nationwide parties with the support of 7,000 volunteers and over half-a-million toy gifts. “Regardless of their situation, kids are kids,” says New Zealand event manager, Mark Wikstrom. “They want to go out and have fun. To be kids. Our parties make a huge difference. It’s the small things that make a difference to these children.”
To find out how to help “create a day to help them forget everything else that’s going on”, including sponsoring an event, visit sccpnz.co.nz.
