A Northland woman hopes national TV coverage of her homegrown scheme for helping struggling young families will inspire others around the country to do the same.
Kerikeri artist Monika Welch started Finkk (Families in Need Kerikeri) barely a month ago after she realised a young mum she was in contact with on Facebook didn't have even $10 to buy a second-hand bed for her kids. Ms Welch gave her the bed, then set about collecting other things the woman needed by appealing for donations of unwanted items via a Facebook group.
Since then the scheme has snowballed. Ms Welch now has eight families on her books and a team of helpers. She has turned her Kerikeri Rd studio into a storage and sorting centre, fundraiser Deb Shepherd has started a Givealittle.co.nz webpage to raise money for a van, and other volunteers are providing frozen meals and free pamper sessions.
The scheme looks likely to expand even more after the current affairs show Campbell Live spotted a story about Ms Welch in the Advocate and sent a crew north to film the Finkk women at work.
Although mortified at first about being on TV, Ms Welch got used to the idea and enjoyed the filming enough to sing Adele's Make You Feel My Love as a soundtrack.
She agreed to be on the show because she wanted people to hear about Finkk and start their own schemes for struggling families. One former Kerikeri woman has already set up a similar group in Australia.
Campbell Live presenter Lachlan Forsyth said Finkk was "a fantastic scheme".
"We love to hear about community initiatives, about people making a difference.
"It's great to see the local community helping other people in that community."
The screening date has yet to be decided but is likely to be in the coming days. If you want to help, lists of required items are regularly posted on the Northland Grapevine and The House of Finkk Facebook pages. The group is also looking for donations of unwanted sewing machines and a more permanent base to store and sort donated goods.