Kindness Collective’s Christmas Joy Store returning for fourth year

The Kindness Collective’s Christmas Joy Store, New Zealand’s first social toy store which gives the gift of kindness and the dignity of choice to families in need, is experiencing record demand to bring the magic of Christmas to children this year.

Kindness Collective Founder and CEO Sarah Page says referrals for the Joy Store and its foodbank for families in need are up 52% this year and the growing waitlist reflects the harsh reality of the tough economic conditions that families have been facing.

“Our goal is to provide gifts for at least 20,000 children to unwrap on Christmas, each one chosen with love by their parents or caregivers, as well as providing food for every family. Every child deserves a magical Christmas, and every parent or caregiver deserves to be able to provide that for their tamariki. The Joy Store is returning for its fourth year to do just that.

“It’s a mammoth undertaking, and we couldn’t do it without the incredible support of partners, volunteers and donations that bring the Joy Store to life.”

The Christmas Joy Store

From 28 November to 23 December, thousands of referred parents and caregivers will enter the Joy Store based in Auckland where they will choose from a selection of new donated toys, ensuring their tamariki have something special to unwrap this Christmas.

For those based outside of Auckland, the Collective works with 75 other organisations like the NZ Police, hospitals, social services, marae, schools and early learning centres to ensure the Joy Store’s magic reaches families up and down Aotearoa.

Food and treats are another major component of the Christmas Joy Store, where those who visit can pick up goodies and pantry staples to enjoy on Christmas Day.

Sourcing, preparing, stocking, distributing and staffing the Joy Store is a significant operation. An army of more than 1,000 volunteers support this.

Page says: “We are so very thankful for each and every donation, volunteer, business and organisations that get behind this initiative. It’s a real community effort.”

How Kiwis can contribute:

• Be a secret Santa and donate online – Help bring joy to a family this Christmas by making an online donation.
• Donate and drop – brand new toys to any Christmas Joy Store collection point at your local participating Mitre 10 from 8 November to 14 December.
• Feed a family – Donate to feed a family this Christmas. Help provide 4,000 families with food hampers filled with pantry staples and festive treats.

The Kindness Collective would like to say a special thanks to the individuals and organisations who are already supporting the Joy Store, including partners such as LEGO, Nescafe Classic, The Warehouse Group, Tegel and Mitre 10.

About The Kindness Collective

The Kindness Collective is a New Zealand charity that spreads kindness by connecting children and families with the things they need (from everyday essentials to moments of joy).

Founded by Chief Executive Sarah Page in 2014 after a challenging time in their family’s lives, she realised two things. Firstly, there are a lot of Kiwi families out there going through very hard times without a lot of support and secondly, the value of kindness isn’t just a buzzword, it can make a life-changing difference to people in need. Since then, the kindness movement has grown in scale and impact, providing practical resource solutions all over the country.

So far, the Collective has contributed over $16m to Kiwis in need and they are only just getting started. Sarah describes the charity as a unique ‘matchmaker’ that bridges the gap between those in need and those who have more to share and then provides the donor with real-life updates of the journey from donation to delivery.

The charity was awarded New Zealand Community of the Year at the 2023 New Zealander of the Year Awards, and Sarah was also a semi-finalist for Local Hero at the awards.

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