Whitcoulls and their customers give to Kiwi kids in need

Whitcoulls and their customers give to Kiwi kids in need again this Christmas

At Christmas, Whitcoulls and their customers help to make a difference in their local communities by giving to children’s charities. They do this by donating cute and collectable Teddy Bears that Whitcoulls produces every year, to gift to Kiwi kids’ in need, in the hope of making their Christmas a little brighter.

For the past five years, Whitcoulls has subsidised the cost of producing the Teddy Bears for their customers to purchase and either take home or donate to a nominated children’s charity. Overwhelmingly, Whitcoulls customers think about Kiwi kids’ in need and choose to donate their Teddy Bear. And this year is no exception, with a record number of Bears being purchased – nearly 10,000 to date – more than half of which will be given to deserving Kiwi kids’ this Christmas.

The children’s charities that are supported and who benefit each year are many and varied, and include the Salvation Army, Womens Refuge, Ronald McDonald House and the Auckland City Mission. Whitcoulls stores nationwide are given free rein in deciding which local children’s charity they wish to support, with each of their teams closely involved in the decision making process.

The idea for this charitable enterprise stems from the civic-minded team at Whitcoulls Riccarton (Christchurch) who, in 2009, after they volunteered at Ronald McDonald House as part of a company initiative to ‘Make A Difference.’ They came back wondering how they could help less fortunate Kiwi kids’ and got permission from Whitcoulls Head Office to sell exclusively made Teddy Bears at a heavily discounted price, for their customers to consider gifting to charity.

The Whitcoulls Teddy Bear costs $19.99, but can be purchased for as little as $9.99 if spend exceeds $30.00. The Teddy Bears are delivered to each store’s named charity the week before Christmas, so that Kiwi kids’ can receive them on Christmas morning. This year’s Bear (pictured above) is called ‘Charlie’ and he will be putting a smile on the faces of hundreds of Kiwi kids’ this Christmas.

Whitcoulls is proudly New Zealand owned and a major national retailer with 58 stores nationwide, offering a wide selection of stationery, educational toys, puzzles, games, books, gifts, greeting cards and wrap. Whitcoulls was founded 131 years ago when George Tombs, a printer and bookbinder, and George Whitcombe, a publisher and bookseller, combined their businesses to create a national publishing company. Whitcombe & Tombs merged with key competitor Coulls Somerville Wilkie, and was renamed Whitcoulls in 1973. Whitcoulls is now proudly New Zealand owned by the James Pascoe Group, that includes The Farmers Trading Co, Stevens, Pascoes the Jewellers, Stewart Dawson’s and Goldmark.

ENDS

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