COLLECTION: ABC Rotorua East children (from left) Hope Leaf, 5, Zooey Kessler, 4, Paige Gardiner, 4, and Mason Poi, 5 with food items collected for the Salvation Army Christmas appeal. PHOTO/BEN FRASER
COLLECTION: ABC Rotorua East children (from left) Hope Leaf, 5, Zooey Kessler, 4, Paige Gardiner, 4, and Mason Poi, 5 with food items collected for the Salvation Army Christmas appeal. PHOTO/BEN FRASER
A group of children from ABC Rotorua East celebrated the festive season with both giving and fun.
ABC Rotorua East staff member Megan Pekin brought four children from the childcare centre in to the Rotorua Daily Post office on Friday.
They came in to drop off donations for the RotoruaDaily Post Salvation Army Foodbank Christmas Appeal.
She said they had put up a sign asking for donations, and parents and staff had kindly donated.
Mrs Pekin said the children were excited to come in, drop off the donations and see what the Rotorua Daily Post was like.
The children had been told the donations would go to families who have "hungry tummies" at Christmas.
"We talked to them about why we're donating and how it was going to needy families."
After the trip to the Rotorua Daily Post office they visited Santa's Wonderland at The Redwoods.
Mrs Pekin said this was the childcare centre's first time donating to the Salvation Army appeal, and said each year the centre took donations to groups in the community.
It helped to make the children aware not everyone had the nice things in life and there were people out there who needed help - people who may not have beautiful Christmases and nice food, she said.
She said they had brought in a box of non-perishable, mainly canned, food.
