Jenna Cunningham, of Milton, came up with an idea to organise a collection at her work to go to the people of Kaikoura who have been badly affected.
However, what started as a small thing quickly ''exploded'' into something much more.
''I thought we'll just do a wee one around work, and then my work colleague was like 'we could do a mufti day at school'.''
It grew from there, Ms Cunningham said.
''It's turned into a whole pallet and all very valuable stuff.''
Donations for the quake relief have come from local businesses, organisations and individuals in the Milton area.
Ms Cunningham was surprised at the response.
With her help, an entire pallet of goods was picked up last Friday and transported to Kaikoura for those in need.
On it were important items such as water, juice, tea, coffee, Weetbix, long-life milk and non-perishable snacks.
Donations also included toys to ''distract the kids'', and $300 completely made up of $2 coins.
''We're trying to pay for as much stuff as possible with tiny denominations of money,'' Ms Cunningham said.
She also tried to capture the events with photographs on her phone but in the confusion she ended up leaving it on her car roof.
Unfortunately, it fell off when she drove away and was not ''salvageable''.
However, she did not mind as it was ''just a phone''.
Overall, everybody had been amazing with their help, she said.
''I was happy to see how much people have given ... I've got to be honest, it feels good to give.''
