A thousand Dunedin primary school pupils pitched in yesterday to support a "Stock the Bus" initiative, providing food and toys for 200 city families in need this Christmas.
Presbyterian Support Otago ran the programme, and Ritchies provided a free bus and driver to collect the gifts of food and toys from four schools — St Clair, Mornington, Maori Hill and Wakari — and from some city firms.
A team of people from Presbyterian Support’s family support arm, Family Works, will give out the food and toys at Christmas.
Presbyterian Support Otago communications and marketing manager Warren Rosser said more than 3000 items had been received this year, about 1700 of which were food and 1300 toys and gifts.
The count had not yet been finalised, but was likely to match or exceed the 3400 items donated through the first bus initiative last year.
One "truly amazing" outcome and the "biggest difference" was that more than 1300 gifts had been donated yesterday, almost doubling last year’s total of about 700, he said.
He had been impressed by the smiles of joy on the faces of the many children bringing their gifts on to the bus.
"The kids love coming on the bus and giving their donations," he said.
"Public generosity is the key to how successful this is," he said.
Family Works ran the city’s busiest emergency foodbank and would be supporting more than 200 families with children this Christmas, Mr Rosser said.
"Many families will have little to celebrate on Christmas morning, so the Stock the Bus appeal aims to provide some Christmas joy to Dunedin’s most vulnerable children," he said.
Wakari School year 5 pupil Isabelle Stanton (10) provided a gift and said "it feels really good" to be giving other children "a chance to have a good Christmas".
"I feel I’m giving them the Christmas that I get," she said.
