Every year hundreds of Kiwis get involved to help kids living in hardship. Want to join them?
You could run a marathon, hold a bake sale, host an event or organise a quiz night... the fundraising possibilities are endless! And every dollar you raise helps give Kiwi kids a fair start at life.
The KidsCan fundraising toolkit has all the information you need to get started. Our team is also here to answer all your questions and support your efforts. Contact us at fundraise@kidscan.org.nz
If you’re someone who puffs while running for the bus, tip your hat to Gus Barrier. The MMA fighter ran around Hamilton’s Lake Rotoroa for 24 hours straight to raise money for KidsCan. In torrential rain, fuelled by boiled potatoes and community support, battling hallucinations and excruciatingly painful feet, Gus ran an incredible 133kms. That’s three back-to-back marathons.
He was never left on his own. Almost 40 other runners — his workmates, the martial arts community, and complete strangers — took turns running beside him. Collectively they ran more than 1000 kms.
Gus was inspired to support KidsCan because he attended a school where we provided a breakfast club for hungry kids: “It makes me very sad that a lot of kids in New Zealand just don't have the bare necessities, and it showed me what a little bit of kindness can do.”
As he ran his final lap, Gus broke down in tears as dragon boating kids in the area played the Rocky theme over their tannoy and lined the path to his finishing line, raising their oars in a guard of honour. “I wasn’t expecting that,” said Gus. “It was unbelievable. I was crying. Definitely a life highlight kind of moment.”
Gus raised more than $3600 for KidsCan. Thank you so much, Gus — what a superstar!
You don’t have to be an MMA fighter or ultra athlete to fundraise for us. Our team are always hear to help with ideas and support your fundraising efforts. Get in touch with us today!
“Some choose to use their superannuation to look after their grandchildren, which is great. But I believe that we can be grandparents to all New Zealand’s mokopuna and can have a role in helping to raise them.” – ShareMySuper founder Liz Greive.
This is the beautiful sentiment behind ShareMySuper – a scheme that allows Kiwis aged over-60 to share part or all of their superannuation to help kids in need.
Aware on an increasing divide between the “haves and the have-nots” in Aotearoa New Zealand, it struck Liz Greive that Kiwis who were living comfortably in retirement could give up some of their super to help others.
Initially she thought the focus of ShareMySuper could be quite broad. But then she realised “If we, as a country, could address child poverty this would lift this generation of tamariki and those that follow.”
KidsCan is now one of the 11 organisations ShareMySuper supports. The family of ShareMySuper charities are a diverse group who offer a range of solutions – from catering to immediate need to offering scholarships and lobbying for change.
While the scheme is for the retired, Liz sees an important role for young Kiwis too.
“Our donors are deeply concerned about child poverty; many of whom give to KidsCan. I know that many of the younger generation give to KidsCan, and I would love to see them going home and saying to their parents, ‘Hey, why don’t you look at ShareMySuper and think about giving when you do get your pension?”- Liz Greive.
Want to know more? Check out www.sharemysuper.org.nz
We’re always blown away by the kindness and initiative of our young supporters. Like 12-year-old Scarlett, who a few years ago created an event called ‘Stroke of Hope’ to raise money for those in need. This year we were the lucky recipients.
Her proud mum Esther told us: “She swims as many 25m lengths in 30 minutes as she can and asks people to sponsor her an amount of their choice per length. All the money then goes to a charity. This year she swam 70 lengths, and she chose to give the money to KidsCan to help kiwi kids in need.”
Scarlett raised an awesome total of $1583.50. That’s four kids supported with food, clothes, shoes and other essentials - for a whole year! Great job, Scarlett.
Then there’s Maggie Mellors – an enterprising 10-year-old who found a way to turn her love of peanut butter into a way to raise funds for kids living in poverty. Maggie’s very own recipe for ‘smunchy’ peanut butter was snapped up by Pic’s – and she asked for proceeds to go to KidsCan!
“Maggie is a very gentle soul and always thinks about kids less fortunate than her,” said dad Jon.
When Maggie and Jon hit on the perfect nutty combo – crunch and smooth – she wrote to Pic himself insisting it would bring “double the yumminess” to Kiwis.
For a limited time, 50c from each jar of Smunchy Pic’s Peanut Butter went to KidsCan – and a total of $1,350 was raised! Talk about spreading the love.
Got an idea for a cool fundraiser? Need help/inspo or just a wee friendly chat with our team? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us at fundraise@kidscan.org.nz.
Please complete this form and our team will be in touch within five working days.
