Thanks to you Winter 2019 - variety.org.nz - Variety NZ
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variety.org.nz
Winter 2019
Thanks to you
Celebrating 30 years
A very lucky boy
With a humble heart, I would like to wait to go to school and show off his
express my sincere thank you for shoes and school bag to his school mates!
accepting Paul onto the Variety Kiwi This has put this biggest smile on his face.
Kid Sponsorship programme. My biggest
thank you to the generous person who Paul is a very lucky boy to be given this
is sponsoring him. I was overwhelmed opportunity.
and very emotional when I got the letter.
He is 12 and has a very cheeky and goofy
I even slept with it tucked under my
personality. When he grows up and becomes
pillow for two nights.
successful in his life, I will make sure he
Paul now has a new school bag, two gives back to the people that helped him.
pairs of new shoes, new clothes, new
drink bottle and new underwear. He can’t Paul ’s mum
Chromebook for Kullen
From laptops to swimming lessons, For as little as $10 a month our wonderful
medical equipment and much more, heroes give vulnerable children access to
our latest round of grant funding the same opportunities as other kids.
gave 60 Kiwi kids the help they
desperately need.
Kullen received funding for a Chromebook.
Living with severe lung disease, the nine-
year-old was spending so much time
in hospital he was getting behind in his
learning. Now, when he’s off school, he can
keep up with his class.
Many one-off grants are funded through our
monthly giving programme, Hero for Kids.
Kullen
Free broadband
As the world becomes more
connected, a significant group of
New Zealand children and families
are locked out of the internet.
Thanks to a generous partnership with
2degrees, Variety’s new broadband
programme is addressing that divide.
Earlier this year, we piloted the
programme with 25 Auckland families.
The pilot showed that internet access
makes a huge difference to children’s
learning. With online access at home Using the internet has helped my oldest
the children did better at school, child to get to and from school using
enjoyed school more, participated public transport.
more in extra-curricular activities,
and their attendance improved. The internet has allowed us to contact
family overseas as we can’t afford to go
There were also benefits for the whole and see them. Video calling is the next
family. This included making it easier for best thing!
caregivers to search and apply for jobs,
pay their bills and manage their finances. The internet has allowed us to search
for easy recipes, cook and bake together
Variety’s free broadband programme is as well as do arts and crafts. One of my
now being rolled out to 100 more families children learnt how to knit, we made a
in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. sling, caught up on news and current
It will run for the next three years as affairs. It has been amazing!
2degrees and Variety work together to
identify and assist struggling families
We created a whole 70th birthday, from
across the country.
decorations, tables and food. It was nice to
rely on our children to help us explore the
internet, use apps to create – well, everything!
Sleep is ‘sweet’
In 2018, you helped us give beds Children who have to share a
to 58 children who were either bed or sleep on the floor are at
sleeping on the floor, on chairs or
couches, or bed-sharing due to
higher risk of infectious diseases.
overcrowding. They’re also not getting the
sleep they need to start the day
They were the first grants made through
refreshed and ready for school.
Beds for Kids, a new programme we
piloted last year to meet an influx of
requests from families for beds and
Thank you
bedding. A grateful parent shared the
family’s reaction to their new beds:
“The kids thought it was Christmas.
Having their own beds has made a lot
of difference because they’re having THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO
a good night’s sleep now. It’s sweet – SUPPORTED OUR APPEAL FOR
they have a lot of energy.” CHRISTCHURCH, TOWARDS OUR
WORK WITH MUSLIM FAMILIES IN
Getting his very own bed was also sweet THE AFTERMATH OF THE 15 MARCH
for 12-year-old Haki, who used to sleep MOSQUE ATTACKS.
on the floor, or share a bed with his
brothers and sisters. He would routinely To date, your donations have funded a
suffer from asthma and had also been series of wellbeing events run by the
admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis. Nawawi Center, an organisation that
His mother was over the moon: works with Muslim youth in Christchurch.
The aim of the events was to strengthen
“It was like a miracle had happened.
community bonds by connecting young
Last winter he didn’t even get sick.
people affected by the death or injury of
When we got them he loved it – he
family members and friends, with a mentor.
asked if we’d won Lotto.”
Thank you too, for your messages of
The Beds for Kids programme is supported
support for the families Variety helps in
by our corporate partner, Zurich and the
Christchurch. We have heard how much
Z Zurich Foundation, which over the next
it meant to know that they were in the
two years will fund beds, bedding and
thoughts of the wider Variety community.
pyjamas for close to 500 children.
Back to school with the
right gear!
During January and February,
Variety ran a public appeal to find
sponsors for 240 children whose
parents were struggling to provide
shoes, a school uniform, stationery
and other basics to start the
school year.
Our Back to School campaign Alexis and Van
resonated strongly with compassionate
New Zealanders around the country. Over
The first term of the new
a few short weeks, 557 children on our
waiting list were matched with their own school year is a challenging
Kiwi Kid Sponsors. Among them were time for families affected
siblings Kaydin and Alice, and friends by poverty. For parents,
Alexis and Van.
the financial burden can
The children are now attending school be overwhelming. For kids,
every day with the correct uniform and it’s tough feeling like the
stationery. They’re even likely to have a
odd one out.
change of clothes for after school. And
they’re also able to go on school camp
and join a sports team, just like their
classmates.
If you sponsored one of those 557
children, thank you! Your support not only
transformed your sponsored child’s start
to the school year, it’s also helping give
them the childhood every kid deserves.
Kaydin and Ali
ce
Going for gold
Each year, Variety awards around
20 Gold Heart Scholarships to help
talented young people like Tusipepa
reach their full potential or achieve Tusipepa
a life goal.
Recipients must already excel in the arts, will use her 2019 Gold Heart Scholarship
sports or education and be financially or to pay for extra tuition in health science,
physically challenged. Funding of up to music exams and school costs. Meet
$5,000 is available for one to three years Tusipepa and 20 other scholarship
and goes towards tuition fees, coaching, winners at variety.org.nz/how-we-help/
equipment, travel and other items. scholarships.
Tusipepa (15) has twin ambitions to be a Variety would like to thank CMC Markets
world-class pianist and the first person and Zurich for helping to fund this year’s
in her family to become a doctor. She Variety Gold Heart Scholarships.
FUNDS RAISED THIS YEAR WILL
HELP PROVIDE BEDS AND BEDDING
FOR 300 KIWI KIDS FACING HARDSHIP.
$105 could fund a bedding pack
(mattress, sheets, blanket and duvet).
$450 could provide a child with their
very own bed, plus a bedding pack.
You can donate to our Warm Hearts Winter Appeal at variety.org.nz
Variety – the Children’s Charity
Level 1, 300 Great South Road, PO Box 17276, Greenlane, Auckland 1546, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 520 4111 Email: sponsorkids@variety.org.nz
VarietyNZ VarietyNZ
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