Kerikeri mum Debbie Sutcliffe is proud to call herself a "nark".
She was one of half a dozen Northlanders who took part in a nationwide appeal on Saturday, aiming to collect toys for vulnerable children and raise awareness of child abuse nationally.
The appeal was the brainchild of Ngaruawahia's CherieSweeney, who was labelled a nark and had her home sprayed with graffiti after she spoke out over the death earlier this year of toddler Serenity Scott-Dinnington.
She set up a charity and reclaimed the word nark, making it an acronym for Nation of Advocates for the Rights of Kids.
Collections were held in Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Kerikeri, Waipapa, Whangarei, Maungaturoto and Kaiwaka.
Mrs Sutcliffe who read about the campaign online just a week earlier, put her hand up to organise a stand on Kerikeri's main street while a friend accepted toys outside The Warehouse in Waipapa.
As of 2pm on Saturday, she had collected 62 soft toys - including everything from teddy bears and hand-knitted dolls to a giant penguin - with a similar number donated at Waipapa.
Most of the collections were held at war memorials, with Whangarei's being at the Rose St Cenotaph.
"The idea is that New Zealand is full of memorials for soldiers who've gone overseas - but there's nothing for our children, who are fighting a war in their own homes," Mrs Sutcliffe said.
The Far North District Council and The Warehouse have been most supportive while theKerikeri Netball Centre helped put the word out on Saturday morning.
The new toys will go to Women's Refuge and used ones to Hospice and other Northland charities.
Mrs Sutcliffe was helped on the day by her family, including 11-year-old daughter Holly.
"I found it enjoyable and really moving. I'm so glad my mum's doing it," Holly said.
