Photo Caption: Kmart Holden Racing team driver, Greg Murphy, filled his Kmart Commodore full of Christmas presents and
distributed them to the Wishing Tree at Kmart Papatoetoe to officially launch the Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal in the
region.
What is the Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal?
The Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal is New Zealand's largest gift appeal.
Since its inception in 1993, the Appeal has enabled more than 60,000 New Zealanders to share in the joy of Christmas.
Established by Kmart, the Appeal is supported by some of New Zealand's largest welfare organisations - The Salvation
Army and Barnardos Children's Trust.
Wishing Trees are located in every Kmart store in Australia and New Zealand. Gift tags are hung on the Wishing Trees,
highlighting the age and gender of a person who would otherwise have a very bleak Christmas.
Gifts for the Appeal do not need to be bought from Kmart, rather our stores act as facilitators for the welfare groups
to reach the wider public.
Many community groups and individuals spend hours making gifts to donate to the Appeal, others choose to buy gifts as
part of the spirit of Christmas.
Now a New Zealand Christmas tradition, The Wishing Tree Appeal is heavily relied upon by welfare groups to service the
needs of their clients at Christmas time.
The Appeal gives the Kmart family the opportunity to contribute to those in need in the community - and to make a real
difference.
Kmart stores are located in: Henderson, St Lukes, Papatoetoe, Hamilton, Tauranga, Hastings, Palmerston North, Porirua,
Shirley, Riccarton and Dunedin.
ENDS