This coming Friday (September 28th), Campbell Live is devoting its entire program to fundraising for a KidsCan initiative aimed at providing lunch to those children in the country’s decile 1 to 4 primary schools currently going hungry during the school day.

We wish we didn’t have to.

But research conducted for the Children’s Commissioner and an extensive study by the University of Otago, have both identified an issue Campbell Live believes we must all confront:

270,000 of our children live in households where incomes fall below recognised poverty thresholds. Many of these children experience significant material deprivation, and many remain poor for long periods of time.

The aim is to help these children as quickly and as practically as we possibly can. And an easy way to do that, is to make sure they have something to eat.

Study after study has revealed the strikingly obvious: that hungry children, and children eating poorly, don’t achieve as successfully at school as children eating healthily and well.

We could endlessly debate the many possible causes of this situation, but that won’t make any difference to these children when they need our help most, which is right now.

And whoever is to blame, it isn’t the children themselves.

So, it’s time to do more than simply pointing the finger, absolving ourselves of responsibility, then looking away. We can make a difference that will immediately help these children.

Our children.

Throughout the week beginning Monday the 24th of September, Campbell Live will look at the issue of child poverty and examine its impact.

And then, on Friday, we will host a very special program in which we’ll raise as much money as we possibly can.

Campbell Live would love you, your school, or your business to be involved in our national Lunchbox Day.

KidsCan says it can provide food for 15,000 hungry schoolchildren for $1.8m per year.

We would love your support.

Come up with your own fundraising ideas.

Email us and tell us what you are doing, at what time next week (it doesn't have to be Friday). We will endeavour to get a camera along, or at least mention you on our show.

If you'd rather just raise some money and stay out of the limelight, the bank account details are as follows:

KidsCan Charitable Trust: ASB BANK 12 3026 0348180 03

And you will also be able to text Lunch to 8595 from next Thursday September 27, for an automatic $3 donation to "shout a child lunch".

Thank you so much in advance for offering to help with what we believe is a very good cause.

The Team at Campbell Live

campbelllive@tv3.co.nz

http://www.3news.co.nz/Lunchbox-differences-in-decile-1-and-decile-10-schools/tabid/817/articleID/269617/Default.aspx