Please help us to help your community this Christmas

Hansel & Gretel may be a fairy-tale, but for some New Zealanders, poverty and hunger are all too real.

Please join the staff and artists of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, together with our friends at Ryman Healthcare, and make a difference in your community this Christmas by supporting your local foodbank.

These great organisations are collecting non-perishable food and personal care items via the collection points in theatre foyers at all our performances.

You can support them at any time with a donation of non-perishable food (including Christmas treats), toiletries such as tooth brushes, toothpaste, shampoo etc., and of course with cash donations – online or via direct transfer. And if you or your business or service club could help with further food donations, they would love to hear from you.

Wellington City Mission

The Wellington City Mission has been helping people in need for 115 years. Every day we meet people who find themselves in hard circumstances and need our help. Over Christmas, while many people and their families are celebrating, thousands of people across the Wellington are experiencing uncertainty, homelessness and loneliness. We simply couldn’t them support without your generosity and donations of money, food, goods and time, especially over Christmas.

Our Christmas Star Appeal has now started, and you can read more about how to get involved by clicking here: https://wellingtoncitymission.org.nz/want-to-help/donate/christmas-appeal/

Palmerston North Methodist Social Services

Supporting the Manawatu community with food, budgeting advice, family counselling and more, for more than 50 years. The food bank supports close to 4,000 people with emergency food each year, and works closely with the Salvation Army, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and Just Zilch. You can find out more at pnmss.nz or make a direct donation at 02-0800-0004587-000.

Napier Community Foodbank Trust

The Napier Community Foodbank receives referrals from 35 Napier health and welfare organisations, including schools and churches, and in the year ending 31 March 2019 delivered more than 1,500 food parcels.  Look out for their collection bins at local supermarkets, contact them direct at napierfoodbank@xtra.co.nz or make a direct donation at ANZ 020766 0026618 02.

Christchurch City Mission

The weeks leading up to Christmas are the busiest of the year for the Christchurch City Mission Foodbank: over the final two weeks they will give food to 1,000 families. The Christchurch City Mission Foodbank operates from 9am to 12.30pm, Monday – Friday at 276 Hereford Street. On average they see about 50 clients a day from Mon-Thurs and more than 70 on Fridays. As well as clients, the Foodbank helps provide meals for other City Mission services including Thorpe House residential detox centre, the men’s and women’s emergency accommodation centres, and the men’s and women’s day programmes. You can find out more and make a direct donation at citymission.org.nz.

Dunedin Society of St Vincent de Paul

The Society of St Vincent de Paul supports the most vulnerable in the community. You can support them through their Vinnie’s shops nationwide, and through their food bank this Christmas. In Dunedin, they have a particular need for non-perishable food items suitable for school lunches, cereal, cooking oil, nappies, dishwashing liquid, toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap and shampoo. You can make a direct donation to the Dunedin branch’s bank account, 03-0883-0186960-000.

Southland Foodbank

Southland Foodbank is part of the Foodbank New Zealand network and supports Southlanders with emergency food parcels. If you’d like to donate food or other non-perishable goods, please call Ron on 03 218 6620. You can also make an online donation to Foodbank New Zealand at foodbank.co.nz.

Auckland City Mission

From their base in the heart of the city, Auckland City Mission has been helping Aucklanders for 99 years. You can help them to help your community with a gift of food or cash – and look out for their street appeal on Friday 6 December. Find out more and donate online at aucklandcitymission.org.nz.