The thought of Kiwi families doing it tough this Christmas sparked a special ‘buy one, give one’ toy donation giveaway at Four Square Parakai. For every toy purchased in store, Four Square Parakai donated one toy in return, with all toys going to local community organisation, Kindred Family Services.

Kindred Family Services is a local charity dedicated to helping people overcome life’s challenges with a range of services from Women’s Refuge, to family support, counselling, and food parcels. Located out west, they service the Rodney and South Kaipara area.

Thanks to the generosity of the store’s customers and wider community, more than 5,000 toys have been donated to Kindred Family Services so that local families can have a memorable Christmas and put presents under the tree this year.

Dan Dale, owner operator at Four Square Parakai says “We know that putting on a memorable Christmas, including food and presents, will be hard for families this year, and think that no parent should have to make the sacrifice of food over presents this Christmas.”

Dale says the toy drive has been a way the store and their team can give back to their local community, following the support received over the lockdown periods.

“We’re so proud to call Parakai home, and the community support and generosity we received this year has blown us away.

We wanted to lend a helping hand to locals and be there for them, during what is supposed to be a joyous time of year, but this year, we know many families will be facing unprecedented hardship.”

Rochelle Gillespie, Communications Manager at Kindred Family Services says, “Just like many communities around New Zealand, we’ve seen a large number of families needing help this year who have never needed it before and we know that Christmas can be an added burden on families already doing it tough.

Dan’s team at Four Square Parakai have been so generous and supportive of us this year, but 5000 toys is surely a lot, so once we’ve made the hampers for our local families, we’re going to pass the extra toys and gifts on to other Women’s Refuge across Auckland ensuring the Christmas spirit is spread far and wide.”

“We’re so proud of our community and how we’ve all come together to help those struggling this Christmas. It’s great to see that after the year we’ve all had, we can still continue to support those struggling most,” finishes Dale.

Foodstuffs recently announced the launch of 'Here for NZ' as a way of putting its four social promises into action in the community. These include: creating meaningful work, providing sustainable leadership, delivering access to healthy affordable food and supporting local communities. Read [here] for more information.

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