More than 150 stars to line up on Wellington’s waterfront

On Wednesday 2 December, some of Greater Wellington’s stars this Christmas will be acknowledged, when The Wellington City Mission begins laying down over 150 Christmas Walk of Fame stars on Wellington’s waterfront outside Te Papa.

Generous individuals, groups and businesses, have purchased naming rights of a star, to support Greater Wellington’s most vulnerable families.

The stars stand for families who are working hard to transform their lives with assistance from The Mission’s services – which include food parcel assistance, in-home support, and Budgeting Advice. Each star has been priced to represent the cost of providing these services for a specific period of time – with funds going towards enabling The Mission to continue offering them both now and into next year.

The Mission aims to sell at least another 50 stars in order to achieve their target of $65,000.

The ‘be a star this Christmas’ theme is also reflected by their eye-catching Star Car, as it continues travelling throughout the region collecting donations. It’s covered in stars, which have been filled with the signatures of hundreds of people who’ve shown their support for the cause.

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade Brown will be personally laying her star down at 10.15am, Thursday 3 December. Celia will be accompanied by long-time Mission supporter, Councillor Simon Marsh.

Wellington City Mission CEO Michelle Branney said: “We’re really excited to see how people respond to our fundraising events on Friday. The Christmas Walk of Fame flips the Hollywood Walk of Fame idea on its head. We hope it’s a fun talking point for those who see it, but it also carries a message – highlighting some of the issues and hardship some families in Greater Wellington are facing. We’d like to say thank you to everyone who has supported The Mission’s Christmas Star Appeal so far, by purchasing a star, or donating in another way - or by signing up to collect for our Street Day Appeal.”

The official launch date is Friday 4 December - coinciding with their annual Street Day Appeal.

Street Day volunteers will be collecting throughout Greater Wellington between the hours of 7am-7pm, at locations including Wellington City, suburbs, and airport, and in Johnsonville, Porirua, Petone, and Lower Hutt - and for the first time, Upper Hutt. Thanks to the continuing support of EFTPOS NZ, 12 sites will again be equipped with eftpos facilities for the convenience of donors. They aim to raise over $40,000 on the day.

For more information, or ways to get involved, please visit www.ChristmasStar.co.nz.

The Walk of Fame will be displayed from 4-18 December. The final day for star orders will be 9 December, to ensure people get their stars down for at least one week.

(If it is raining on Wednesday 2 December, the Walk of Fame will go down on Thursday 3 December.)

ENDS

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