Presbyterian Support communication and marketing manager Warren Rosser said that receiving the gifts during a visit to Te Rangi Hiroa College was "a very welcome surprise", and felt like "an early Christmas present".
The presents filled six banana boxes, and would make a big difference to some hard-pressed families who would otherwise be going without presents, either for Christmas, or even to mark birthdays.
College head Rosemary Tarbotton said the residents, numbering about 120, had celebrated last Saturday that the college was nearly four years old.
Although they had enjoyed fairy bread and some other fun food, they had bought presents not for themselves, but to support Presbyterian Support’s Family Works programme, in a "great response".
This would become a regular yearly event as part of the college’s volunteering programme. Some college residents were on scholarships and "not financially well off" but had still chosen to help others, she said.
