Generous spirit of locals is evident

$936 million is a pretty big figure in anyone's books - especially when a lot of it has simply been given away.

But that is the figure raised by charities in the Wanganui and Manawatu regions in the past year.

It represents a 50 per cent increase in our support of worthy causes over the past five years, and reflects a remarkable spirit of generosity.

While the figure covers the two regions, I have no doubt that Wanganui is more than pulling its weight.

You don't have to spend too long here to appreciate how the community will quickly and quietly step up to help out. Where there is a need - and there is plenty of that - people will look to meet it.

And the pages of the Chronicle offer plenty of insight into the campaigns and crusades - be it a large organisation or a single schoolkid - that are regularly undertaken to help those less fortunate.

In our story on Page 7, Cancer Society manager Simon Aitken comments how the close-knit, rural community means people are more receptive to others' needs.

Of course, this spirit of support and giving is not confined to Wanganui.

The huge amounts of money donated to charities across New Zealand reveals how much charitable and social work is underpinned by voluntary contribution. And, of course, that's not counting the value of the many, many hours of work done by volunteers.

It suggests that without this massive financial support things would fall apart quite disastrously. Certainly central government, which one might feel has a responsibility here, would struggle to fill the gap.

So, like Simon Aitken, we all have reason to be grateful.