A young Wellington girl was happy not to receive any presents for her 8th birthday last week. Trelise Neal chose to donate them to charity instead.
The schoolgirl is one of the first people to use The Good Registry - a social enterprise that lets you donate your special event to a good cause. Instead of buying presents the gift givers donate to your profile and the money goes to your chosen charity.
Mum Sue McCabe suggested the idea to Trelise who at first agreed, then declined, then agreed again.
“She said I have enough stuff. I’m never bored. And the animals need it.
“She loved it. I wondered how she would feel after whether there’d be any regrets but she really understood and was happy with her decision.”
Trelise raised $309 for the SPCA. She also had her party at the SPCA and they gave her a certificate to say thanks.
Her friends congratulated her for her kindness, McCabe said, who is also a co-founder of The Good Registry.
“I think she’s feeling like a real giver. Her friends talked to her about how amazing it was that she said no to presents. Her friends still made lovely cards.”
People can donate baby showers, birthdays, weddings or even Christmas to charity, The Good Registry chief executive Christine Langdon said.
She came up with the idea while she was cleaning out her closet last year and throwing out unwanted items.
“You find a lot of gifts you received are tucked away in drawers and cupboards. They are gifts someone bought, wrapped and delivered to you and often the gifts haven’t been used.
“It’s money that was spent that could have gone to a good cause.
“I thought this is a cool idea, this is a way to do more good without having to sacrifice anything.”
There are currently 50 charities to choose from and a waiting list of 15. Langdon said they would extend their list once the platform was running smoothly.
The Neonatal Trust - which provides support to families of premature or sick full term babies - has had their first donation through the registry. Executive director Neil O’Styke said it was an amazing concept that was a huge help to charities.
Previously people had fundraised informally for the charity. Sometimes random amounts of money would get deposited in their account with little description. They’d have to spend time tracing the owner to give them a receipt.
“The charity scene is quite competitive really important for us to offer our stakeholders and supporters good choice. We’re really privileged to be included,” O’Styke said.
“Having someone take care of all the admin is great for fundraising, it’s great for less admin and it’s great for awareness raising.”
Generous people go to the website, make a profile, choose a charity then share it with their friends and family to gift to. A tally on the profile shows how many people have gifted, the total amount and any messages of support. It does not reveal who gave how much.
The page will close 10 days after the event and the money will be transferred to the chosen charity - except 10% which goes towards covering the costs of the platform.
Langdon recruited her friends Tracey Bridges and Sue McCabe in mid-August. They challenged themselves to launch by Christmas. And they succeeded after they raised over $20,000 through PledgeMe to build their platform.
