Variety Appeals for Emergency Winter Funding for Children
Warm blankets, clothes and shoes needed for thousands of disadvantaged kids
No child deserves to go cold. But this winter, many kids will.
On Tuesday, June 6, Variety – the Children’s Charity launches its annual Winter Appeal to raise emergency funds to support disadvantaged Kiwi kids.
“The cold months are the hardest time of the year for these children, so we’re asking our supporters to help us meet the flood of urgent requests for assistance we receive every winter from desperate families all around New Zealand,” said Lorraine Taylor, Variety CEO. “By supporting this emergency appeal, Kiwis can help us provide winter essentials for thousands of children, many of whom are living in overcrowded, damp and cold housing.”
Visit variety.org.nz or text GIVE to 5144 to donate $3.
When it’s too cold to sleep, children can’t focus at school. Children going cold are also more likely to get sick. They are three times more likely to end up in hospital for common respiratory and infectious conditions.
“We can alleviate the worst of winter by providing basics many are going without, like warm clothes, bedding, jackets and shoes – simple items that can literally change a child’s life,” says Lorraine Taylor.
Variety-supported families report fewer hospital visits, fewer asthma attacks and reduced outbreaks of eczema. With a second uniform, children who get wet on one day can still attend classes the next. A closed-in pair of shoes can make all the difference in the world to a child who would otherwise walk to school in jandals.
Variety is aiming to raise more than $40,000 to help children most in need.
$8 can buy three pairs of warm socks.
$10 can buy flannelette pyjamas to keep a child cosy at night.
$15 can buy a wool beanie for icy mornings.
$24 can buy polar fleece blankets for four kids sleeping cold.
$57 can buy lace-up shoes for a boy used to walking to school in jandals.
$89 can buy a child their first waterproof jacket.
$205 can buy a winter school uniform for a teen girl.
Visit www.variety.org.nz call 09 520 4111 or text GIVE to 5144 to donate $3.
For every dollar you give by 30 June, a generous Variety corporate partner will donate another dollar, up to a total of $35,000, doubling the impact.

Winter means hospital visits for Christchurch family
(names changed to protect identities)
In the Canterbury house where Emily lives with her two siblings, winter is a dangerous time.
The wind whistles in through the doors, which don’t close properly because the floor is on an angle – the result of damage from the 2010 Christchurch earthquake – and last year Emily’s mother Angela took her to the hospital twice for asthma.
Angela worries that this year will be worse for the children’s health as Emily, her brother Sam, 13, and sister Hayley, 10, grow out of their winter clothes and shoes. The family can’t afford new clothes and school uniforms are exorbitantly expensive.
Emily and Hayley don’t have winter uniforms and instead, on cold days, wear thick tights under their lightweight summer skirts.
The rented house Angela and her three children live in is due for major renovations in 18 months, but until then, it’s all the family can afford.
Angela works part-time as a support worker for war veterans. She has been searching for new accommodation for nine months to no avail. Rents have risen and she has been told that she doesn’t qualify for Housing New Zealand support. She is already paying more than half of her income in rent, and simply cannot afford more. As it is, she regularly goes without food so that her children can eat, spending only $100 a week to feed four people.
To support her children through winter, Angela has turned to Variety.
Emily, Sam, and Hayley are three of more than 400 children on Variety’s waiting list for help this winter.
To support families including Angela’s, please visit www.variety.org.nz or text GIVE to 5144 to donate $3.

About Variety
We believe that every child deserves the same opportunities to reach their full potential. Variety provides tailored, flexible support to disadvantaged children in New Zealand. We work alongside schools, community agencies, social workers and healthcare professionals to identify children in need.
Variety provides disadvantaged children with basic essentials (such as warm bedding and school uniforms), one-off grants for additional needs (such as medical and mobility equipment) and access to extra-curricular activities (such as school camp or swimming lessons).
With our support, they have access to the same opportunities as other kids, a happier, healthier childhood and the foundation for a better future.

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