Plunket pays it forward with winter woollies

Plunket Health Worker Jhena Hawley with Justin Mulligan and Linda Taumoeanga from the City Mission. Photo/Supplied

City Mission put the call out and Whanganui Plunket responded with baskets of hand-knitted winter woollies to help keep the community warm.

"We saw the recent cry for help from the City Mission and thought we could pay it forward," says Plunket's clinical leader Nikki Houlahan.

Knitters heeded the call and members of the Gonville Knitting Group and Kiwi Family Trust produced 500 knitted garments which were delivered to City Mission Whanganui on Thursday.

Plunket also welcomed the community in for a hot lunch in exchange for a donation of non-perishable food for the Mission in late June and Houlahan said the results exceeded expectations.

"It was such a success that we'll be doing it again before the end of winter.

"A huge thank you to our wonderful knitters keeping our tamariki warm."

Local business Iron Alley Gym also got behind the Mission this month and delivered two large boxes of food donations collected from their members.

Iron Alley owner Lesley Eru said members were given an incentive to donate food items.

"We promised to do one body drop or kettlebell roll for every donation and we ended up doing 162 body drops."

Eru and Ebony Kerr posted the evidence on their Facebook Page and Eru says it was worth it to get such a good response.

City Mission Whanganui at 7 Park Pl is open from 9am to 3pm from Monday to Friday.