Cook said he had the idea for the appeal after reading about an American Rotary club that did something similar.
“They had put a float in their town parade to collect donations and then approached their local schools to [ask for their] help, so they could gift them to children [who] may not otherwise get a present at Christmastime.”
He said he approached the board, and its members were supportive of the idea.
“So we created an elf sleigh for the parade for people to pop their gifts in.”
Cook said they received 60 presents the first year, and since then that number has doubled.
“The community is great in supporting us.”
The appeal has grown even larger, he said, with the club also helping the Tarata Country Women’s Institute shoebox appeal.
“They put together shoeboxes for young mums and they asked us to help distribute. We now provide about 15 shoeboxes for young mums in need. We work with Plunket to help distribute them.”
For the present appeal, people can place their gifts in the sleigh during the town’s Christmas parade or take them to the Inglewood Library.
“We want to thank people for helping us with this appeal.”
The appeal is successful because of everyone involved, he said.
“We work with Inglewood Primary School to distribute the gifts as they would be aware of families in need this Christmas. The Inglewood community has also embraced it.”
The Details:
What: Inglewood Rotary Club gift appeal
When: Donations can be given to the club at the town’s Christmas parade on Saturday, December 14 at 12pm, or dropped at the library, open Monday to Friday from 9am-5pm.
