International Travel College Gives a Bellyful
International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) has recently become a sponsor of Bellyful NZ.
Bellyful is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers. The organisation delivers free precooked meals to families
with new babies and families with a critically ill family member.
“It’s such an incredible organisation,” says ITC Account Manager Ceri Jenkins. “I met Jacqui Ritchie, the executive
director, at a careers expo and was just amazed at the service they provide.”
“We have many working parents studying at ITC,” says Ceri. “Study is always a real commitment, but it is even more so
when you have a family to organise as well. At ITC we love that this service offers such practical help to new parents.”
Bellyful has 16 branches around New Zealand and aims to have one in every town in the country by 2016.
“That’s an amazing goal,” says Ceri, “and we seriously hope they can achieve it. A lot of new parents entering tertiary
study aren’t in the main centres.
“At ITC, for example, new parents often choose our distance learning courses, as they don’t need to uproot their family
and they can organise study around their busy schedules.”
Each branch of Bellyful does its own fundraising and is supported by local donations and volunteers. Parents with babies
under three months old and families struggling with illness can contact their local area coordinator via the Bellyful
website: www.bellyful.co.nz
“A home-cooked meal is such a simple thing to offer,” says Ceri.“ But when you are juggling the demands of family life
and work or study, it’s sometimes the simple things that make all the difference.”
Bellyful’s ambassador Pippa Wetzell agrees: ““Bellyful – it’s simple and yet when you’re struggling with the challenges
that a newborn brings into your life, something like a cooked meal and someone to talk to can make a world of
difference. Getting off to a good start in the first few months of your baby’s life makes a huge difference to the
wellbeing of a whole family.”
http://www.itc.co.nz/About-Us/Media-releases.asp
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