Auckland City Mission issues urgent request for help

Live News Team Leader, NZ Herald·NZME.·

17 Dec, 2014 09:22 PM2 mins to read

Huge numbers of people have been waiting for help from the Auckland City Mission, but the donations haven't been flowing. Photo / Chris Gorman

The Auckland City Mission has raised only a third of the donations it needs for Christmas and the summer months.

Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson said the mission was desperately short of donations it needed to provide emergency food parcels and presents to families in need.

The mission projected it needed to raise $1.3 million, and so far $430,000 has been donated.

The mission sees around 300 families each day in the lead up to Christmas, but more people were still waiting.

The queue began forming each day about 3am, Mr Robertson said.

"We do not want anyone to go without on Christmas Day, so we provide emergency food parcels and a present for each child to every family not entitled to a [Work and Income] Special Needs Grant who comes to us for help."

The number of people coming to the mission for help would increase as Christmas approaches and that would put the mission under extreme pressure, Ms Robertson said.

"The mission still desperately needs donations of money, food and presents. The best way people can help is to make a financial donation. The week ahead of us is a mammoth task and we can only do it with the help of the entire Auckland community."

The Auckland City Mission Christmas Appeal runs until the New Year and donations are still desperately needed.

The head of fundraising for the mission, Alexis Sawyers, said the total donated so far was much lower than would have hoped.

The $1.3 million was not for Christmas alone, but also for the first few months of the year.

Ms Sawyers said people they didn't see before Christmas often came in January or February because they had used all their options to provide food and presents at Christmas-time.