Winter is making itself felt across New Zealand and sadly, for varying reasons, there will be families who struggle to stay warm.
Mi-IT is supporting the wonderful work of ‘Give a Kid a Blanket‘. They describe what they do as a ‘community action of kindness’. During June and July, they gather donations of warmth from across the wider Auckland area and beyond and gift these to children and families in need.
The need is identified through social workers, public health nurses and other community workers. The idea is for those who receive the donations to feel warmer but importantly, to also feel valued by the wider community. To that end, they only give out new and in excellent condition pre-loved items.
In the winter of 2018, they gave out 17,500 blankets plus over 5000 other warm items including new pillows, new hot water bottles, pyjamas, socks, beanies, jumpers and coats.
Their focus (rather than being on the recipients and possibly victimising them) is on the simple act of kindness by a caring community. To that end, the project’s focus and all supporting social media are on acts of kindness, the donors and health/community workers.
Collecting starts on June 1st and runs to July 21st. They will distribute the donated items through this time and until everything is gone.
Their Facebook page serves as the platform for the project. On June 1st a list of drop off points for donations will be posted. Donors drop off items at these points where they are collected and taken to the main warehouse. Here items are sorted and orders made up by a dedicated group of volunteers. Including the drop off point hosts, they have over 100 volunteers who support the project in some way.
Mi-IT is a Drop-Off Host
Mi-IT has volunteered to be a drop-off host for the duration of the campaign. We are located in Albany at: 2B/1 William Pickering Drive, Albany
Mi-IT will collect
We would like to encourage our customers to get their employees involved and in the event that you have several items to donate, Mi-IT is happy to arrange a collection. In this instance, please call Caterina at 021 839-767.
What to donate
New and excellent condition pre-loved blankets, sleeping bags, duvet, baby sleeping sacks, winter bedding, duvet covers, new pillows, new hot water bottles, pyjamas, beanies, socks, jumpers, winter coats and raincoats.
Give a Little Page
As the project has grown so have the costs in running it. These include renting a building to work out of, fuel costs, etc.
If you prefer to donate a small amount to the project, please visit their ‘Give a Little’ page – every dollar counts!
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/give-a-kid-a-blanket-2019
Social Media
You can have a closer look at how their work impacts our communities by viewing their Facebook page at Give a Kid a Blanket
