Twelve Days of Christmas: Duffy group brings magic to many young lives

Broadcasters Johnson Raela (left) and Charlie Panapa help to spread the love of literature as Duffy Books reps.

Auckland Airport is giving away $120,000 to NZ charities as part of its 12 Days of Christmas campaign this year. The Herald is profiling each charity.

With so many gadgets and gizmos available these days, seeing a child getting excited over a book can be pretty extraordinary.

For those at Duffy Books in Homes, that is the kind of attitude they have been seeing from children for the past 20 years.

The organisation, based in Otahuhu, is among the winners of this year's 12 Days of Christmas Auckland Airport initiative.

A total of $10,000 will go towards buying almost 2000 books for about 800 children in low-decile schools.

The group provides new books to children from all around the country and this year, as part of its grant for the organisation, Auckland Airport has chosen Mangere East Primary School as the key beneficiary.

Duffy's general manager, former Silver Fern Linda Vagana, said being able to present books to students whose families might not be able to afford them was hugely rewarding.

"Often we hear teachers talk about how excited the kids get. They see the boxes arrive and know that they're going to get their books soon."

Ms Vagana said that as part of its programme, Duffy held special assemblies throughout the year where each child was presented with books.