You’ve done it again, Rotorua.
An “absolutely amazing” 10,534 items valued at $26,335 were collected for the Salvation Army foodbank on Wednesday in the 10th annual edition of Fill the Bus.
The generosity of the community has left organisers and foodbank team feeling stunned and humbled.
The total collected nearly matched last year’s record-breaking 10,699 items, which the foodbank values at an average of $2.50 each for a total of $26,747.
On a steaming hot day, The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM presenter Paul Hickey and a team including the Salvation Army’s Hana Seddon and Tracey Ball were driven around Rotorua by Anita Williams in a CityRide bus donated for the day by Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
The bus visited businesses, Government organisations and 14 schools to collect food donations and other goodies.
READ MORE: Scroll to the end to find our live blog from the 2024 Fill the Bus day.
By the end of the day, the host found himself floored by Rotorua’s generosity.
“You know, it takes the whole city and community to do a collection like that, and I’m just really thankful for everybody who helped out.”
“We say it every year, that times are tough, but I think it shows that as a community, as a city, we’re all very caring about each other, and if we’re able to help others, everybody’s stepping up,” Hickey said.
It was Hickey’s 10th year hosting the fundraiser in his home town, including visits to schools he once attended: Lynmore Primary and Mokoia Intermediate.
“10 years? Holy hecka,” said Mokoia Intermediate teacher Evelyn Lukis.
Westbrook School deputy principal Jackie Barrett said the school had been donating for the full 10 years. Leaders at the school loved being able to give and share “manaakitanga”.
“We’re a school that has community in mind and we always like to be able to give back. Fill The Bus is a good opportunity for the children to see what it’s like to be of service to the community,” Barrett said.
The Fill the Bus team had to offload donations multiple times throughout the day as the weight of the cans made it hard for the bus to manoeuvre out of some carparks.
“But that’s a good problem to have,” Hickey assured viewers during his live coverage.
Glenholme School donated over 1600 cans to the bus. Year 6 student Lachie Kiff said their crew of young leaders rallied fellow students to get behind the appeal.
“Us, as a community, we want to think about everyone in our ... community [who] doesn’t have food, and it would be so cool to help them out this Christmas,” Kiff said.
Students at Selwyn School broke into a haka for Salvation Army mascot Shieldy while the team on-boarded their donations.
Selwyn School deputy principal Merenia Gotz said Fill the Bus was the perfect way to get students involved in the community.
“You ask any school in Term 4 – it’s the craziest energy, and quite exciting.”
“School trips, sports, Christmas shows, prizegivings all happen at the end of the year – and Fill The Bus!
“It’s double-time,” she said.
She said the school loved to “help our community help our community”.
“And the children need to know that giving is a really important concept,” Gotz said.
Salvation Army Rotorua community ministries manager Darnielle Hoods said Fill the Bus 2024 was “absolutely amazing”.
“We’re so humbled by the incredible generosity of our Rotorua community.
“The schools we visited were so welcoming, and the kids were buzzing with excitement when they met Shieldy. Our local police station team collected over 115 toys – this was incredible,” Hoods said.
Local businesses had run food collections as part of the appeal, Hoods said.
“Your support has been outstanding. We’re truly grateful to everyone who contributed to Fill the Bus; it’s heartwarming to see our community come together like this to make a difference in the lives of many whānau in our community.
“Your donation will make a difference,” Hoods said.
Fill the Bus is part of the Rotorua Daily Post’s six-week Christmas Appeal, which is currently in its fourth week and aims to fill the foodbank’s shelves through the holidays and into 2025.
Items donated help the foodbank stock its choice-model supermarket, which launched in May and allows clients to select their own food support.
As of today, the Christmas Appeal has collected donations valued at more than $60,000. That includes more than $20,000 in cash and voucher donations.
It also includes 307 toys worth an estimated $3070 – a tally helped by Rotorua police. Detective Christie Gordon said the team focused on the “fun stuff” for their Fill the Bus collection, gifting a huge haul of toys.
The Rotorua Daily Post covered the 2024 Fill the Bus day from moment to moment in the live blog below.
Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.
The rescue is currently under way with emergency services working to reach the pair's car.