The Wattie’s Cans Film Festival, as we know it, has been canned.
But in its place, Wattie’s has established the Wattie’s Cans for Good — a programme in which schools will collect cans for the Salvation Army foodbanks.
For the past 22 years, the New Zealand Motion Picture Industry Council has worked with Wattie’s to get cinemas to take part. But this year, the organisation said it would no longer participate.
Under the new initiative, more than 180 schools from around the country have signed up to take part in the new national can collection, which will help struggling families with food support.
Thirteen of the schools are from Otago, and the numbers are expected to increase.
Wattie’s Cans for Good will take place from November 14-18, and all cans collected will be given to the Salvation Army for use in local foodbanks.
Heinz Wattie’s communications manager, Tina Wong, said Wattie’s had been a key partner with the Salvation Army for more than 23 years, providing cans to stock foodbank shelves for the high-demand Christmas period.
The initiative aimed to encourage children to contribute for the common good and to have a sense of making a difference to the lives of others.
Ms Wong said the programme would go beyond other fundraisers because it would combine collecting for charity with a creative competition and a set of teacher-based resource sheets designed to engage children and teachers in a team-based experience.
"We’re really excited about this new initiative and the role we can play at a community level, combining charitable donations with a creative and fun set of activities for primary school children."
Salvation Army national social services secretary Pam Waugh hoped schools could collect more than 25,000 cans, which would be matched by Watties.
"We provided more than 55,000 food parcels to help Kiwis in need get back on their feet in 2015, and this year the number of people needing help continues to grow.
"Christmas is an extremely difficult time for many families, so food donations from Watties Cans for Good will make a real difference to New Zealanders when they need it the most," she said.
