Wakatipu digging deep this Christmas

5 minutes read
Posted 13 December, 2022
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The heart and generosity of the Wakatipu is beating strong in the lead-up to this Christmas with everyone from caring business owners and employees to ordinary families, all digging deep to help those who are struggling.

Local help agencies say they’ve been overwhelmed yet again with the outpouring of generosity from the local community, with increasing needs amid skyrocketing living costs.

“The demand hasn’t subsided since Covid, going up a bit more as Christmas approached,” says Baskets of Blessing operations manager Lee Nicolson. “We’re finding people are physically, mentally and financially fatigued – a lot are all three,” she says.

It’s been hard to keep up with growing demand for food parcels, gift baskets and meal packs for people nominated anonymously on the Baskets of Blessing website (www.basketsofblessing.co.nz), she says.

“The cost of living’s gone through the roof, rent, mortgages, fuel and food, they’ve all gone up horrendously,” says Lee. “People are struggling. It’s the worst I’ve seen.”

Support through donations of money, food, gifts and time, has been absolutely fantastic from all sectors of the community, individuals, businesses and even people from around the South Island hearing about the cause and wanting to help out by donating products. Pre-schoolers have also been doing their bit.

It’s a never-ending pool of need. “The more we get in the more we can help and people can help with anything from products, time and cooking to driving deliveries, sorting and packing, or making crafts like lavender pouches,” she says. Local children are making Christmas cards to put in the gift baskets and Country Club members are knitting baby clothes. “We have ladies making woollen toys – one, two a day, and we really need donations of wool for these.” Other people have made 900 jars of chutneys and jams, truffles and cookies. “Everyone in the community can help in some way, even cleaning labels off jars,” says Lee. “If everyone just spent $10 or $20 on a few goodies, like a few magazines, garden seeds, coloured pens and pencils or something, it would make such a difference.”

Cook-ups are held at the hub – St John’s Presbyterian Church in Arrowtown, Monday and Thursday mornings until 1pm, and people are encouraged to drop off ingredients, or come and help, but to make contact if they’re coming to help. “We have retired chefs and retired farmer’s wives who are used to cooking for large numbers.” Meals are frozen and delivered to those in need, whether that be due to a bereavement or tragedy, post-surgery, chemotherapy patients, or those simply struggling to pay the bills.

“We’re sending out 300 to 600 meals a week at the moment,” says Lee. “It excites us if we can look after more people and more volunteers are also welcome, particularly males.” A dozen local men already deliver the meals every Thursday.

Local business have been backing good causes with some offering up staff teams to help pre-Christmas.

Salvation Army Queenstown corps officer and director of community ministries Lt Andrew Wilson says there’s been a slight move away from the immediate welfare needs to more social support and mental health needs with continual living cost hikes.

The Army will distribute Christmas boxes and food hampers to 50 to 60 families this Christmas, and Andrew says more gifts are needed for kids, from newborns to 13. “One of the most humbling and rewarding aspects is seeing those nominated come in to choose their family gifts, which they take home and wrap.”

Game Over is holding a can drive to help keep the Sallies’ Food Bank bolstered, offering 50 minutes of arcade time for one can. “This is a fantastic and phenomenal initiative,” says Andrew.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council helped local welfare charities by gifting free tickets to this year’s council Christmas Show – 12 Bells of Christmas at the Events Centre, enabling families to enjoy the two shows on December 11.

Bunnings offered its car park space for local charities to fundraise with various pre-Christmas stalls on December 9. QT Community CATs held a Petting Zoo on site, the Salvation Army ran some games, and Altrusa Service Club operated a Sausage Sizzle.

Happiness House is turning out Christmas boxes to between 30 and 40 nominated families and individuals who are in hardship, says manager Léna Boss.

“The community here is very strong and generous. People are really aware it’s not an easy place to live,” she says. “People are really struggling to pay rent, even food, power and petrol.”

“The support we get at the end of the year with the Christmas Boxes, shows how much the community is looking out for each other,” says Léna. “It’s been a tough year for everyone and we are really grateful that people continue to support one another.”

Businesses have donated vouchers and gifts, as have the local Lions and Altrusa clubs. “Housing is the biggest issue in recent months with higher rents and shortages of accommodation, and even rooms,” she says. “The cost of living is starting to bite.”

So many small businesses, individuals and community groups have pitched in collecting gift donations, or asking employees to bring extra gifts to staff Christmas parties.

This Christmas Boxes Project has been happening for a number of years now and really helps, making the difference for some families in the Queenstown area.

Needs have been so great this year that City Impact Church at Frankton launched an extra call for the church community to fill another round of its annual Christmas gift boxes. Pastor Kellie Watson says the boxes – 52 this year, are gifted to people in the community who’ve had a difficult year or may be struggling. “It’s a highlight of the year for our church community being able to bless others,” she says. A free family community Christmas production was also staged on December 10 and 11.

Minus 5º Ice Bar’s Santa’s Grotto Fundraiser, in the form of a Christmas winter wonderland, delighted the kids on December 10 and 11 too. Santa was on hand to receive wishlists and there was free face-painting with the $5 per child of $10 per family donation all going to Wakatipu Plunket. Print Central, Lakes Weekly Bulletin, Magic Memories and Steamer Wharf all contributed to making this happen.

To help:
Baskets of Blessing
See www.basketsofblessing.co.nz or phone Lee on 021957203.
Salvation Army
Ring 03 4429661 or email: queenstown.cm@salvationarmy.org.nz
Happiness House
Email info@happinesshouse.org.nz or phone 03 4426531.

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