What are some of the projects we have worked on? 

Family Care PACKAGES

We designed these packs with help from social workers and a budgetary advisor.  Each pack contains towels, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, combs, hair ties, toilet paper, shampoo and conditioner, and a myriad of other items.  The cost of these baskets is $120 for a family of six.  We work with many organisations including Whanau Maanaki Kindergartens, Wesley Community Action, Redcross and others. Since the inception of Given for You we have distributed 228 of these packages to families in need.  We also do comprehensive care packages for individuals.

We are helped with the packing of these kits by a group of dedicated young women from Samuel Marsden Collegiate who regularly give time to make sure the kits are ready to go.

FUNDRAISERS

Our fundraisers are (if we say so ourselves) fabulous.  We have run movie nights, gourmet baking events, a Quiz Night, raffles and sold Christmas crafts, the Tommy's Charity Golf Day which was held in November 2017, and will be again this year, and be on the look out for our Pop Up Fashion Fundraiser.  More details on that soon.  

Any funds raised go directly into purchasing items for our family care packages, birthday bags, and swim bags.  

SWIM BAGS FOR SCHOOLS

This is our most recent offering.  We had discussions where we heard that children in the lower decile schools who didn't have swimming togs often wouldn't attend school on the day that there were swimming lessons.  We thought that was sad for many reasons:  participation in school, a fun time learning with friends, exercise and most importantly lessons in water confidence and safety.  

Our swim bags contain togs, a towel, and goggles.

We approached Kahurangi School in Strathmore and they were delighted with the idea.  They gave us a breakdown of the size of swimsuits required, and we got shopping for 190 of them.  We had much pleasure in delivering the bags to Kahurangi School in time for their term 3 swim programme.

In 2018 we have delivered 200 swim bags to Cannons Creek School and 60 swim bags to Pomare School in time for their swim lessons in term 2. 

Beanies

Keeping warm in winter on a limited budget can be hard.  We have a group of dedicated knitters and crocheters who make wonderful beanies to assist in keeping people warm over the cooler months. Sadly one of our most dedicated knitters Ngaire Dodd, passed earlier this year.  Ngaire was a lady who loved making a difference, and helped us to the end with her beautiful knitting and her uplifting outlook.

The beanies are given away in our family care packs.  If you would like to knit or crochet beanies for us, we would love to hear from you.

Birthday bags

Why Birthday Bags?  It's a common question.  We believe that having a special day for a child helps with their self esteem, gives a reason to celebrate and socialise, makes positive memories and means a parent can provide more than the bare minimum for their child.

These bags are packed in a baking tin and include cake mix, sprinkles, candles, lolly bags, balloons, stickers, plates and napkins.