{"id":182583,"date":"2025-12-13T23:48:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T23:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/182583\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T23:48:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T23:48:13","slug":"on-the-up-christmas-spirit-shines-with-free-meals-hampers-and-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/182583\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Up: Christmas spirit shines with free meals, hampers and donations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Parents will also get a chance to pick out Christmas gifts for their children<\/a>, from community donations through the likes of the Kmart Wishing Tree appeal and wooden toys made by Whang\u0101rei Men\u2019s Shed.<\/p>\n

This year, the Salvation Army noticed more people hitting the poverty line<\/a> and coming to its social supermarket for help, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

This included people working, and some who even own their own home but are struggling to make ends meet through the cost of living crisis<\/a> \u2013 especially if sudden bills hit, she said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s hampers were sponsored by local businesses, who were encouraged to write a message of support to the wh\u0101nau, said Johnson, a former Christmas hamper benefactor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had an amazing response from the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a child that got a parcel 30-plus years ago. It changes the protectory pathway if you give wh\u0101nau the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Salvation Army will set up a Christmas grotto with donated items, so parents can choose presents for their kids.<\/p>\n

On top of the hampers, The Salvation Army will host a free Christmas Day dinner<\/a> for those who have nothing to do or are lonely and need support.<\/p>\n

While free, the event is ticketed to keep numbers manageable, and all 100 tickets have been allocated, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

The three-course meal is being run by a church volunteer and likely to benefit different people to those who received hampers, she said.<\/p>\n

Another Christmas Day event will be a barbecue breakfast, running for the third time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whang\u0101rei\u2019s Free Community Christmas Breakfast<\/a> at Laurie Hall Park is expected to attract about 200 people, said one organiser Gary Younger.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Christmas Day breakfast in Laurie Hall Park is all about giving Christmas cheer, say two organisers, Mike Paora (left) and Gary Younger.<\/p>\n

The event started in 2023 by a group of friends who informally call themselves the Dead Parents Society, because each of them had lost at least one of their parents but wanted to show they were good children.<\/p>\n

The barbecue from 8am not only involves a good feed, it also provides comfort and friendship for those who are alone on Christmas Day, Younger said.<\/p>\n

People can simply turn up on the day and it is a great atmosphere, with volunteers and guests mingling, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t need to remind people that people are doing it tough … It\u2019s for anybody who wants a hearty breakfast and good company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteers and donations are always welcome, especially people able to bake some desserts, Younger said.<\/p>\n

Anyone interested in helping can contact Younger through the Facebook page: Whang\u0101rei\u2019s Free Community Christmas Breakfast. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Te Korowai o Ihu Karaiti Ministries<\/a> will run a Christmas lunch in Whang\u0101rei on December 23 and an event in Dargaville on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n

\"PetrinaPetrina Pitman says the Christmas meals run by Te Korowai o Ihu Karaiti Ministries are all about helping the less fortunate. Photo \/ Michael Cunningham<\/p>\n

Organiser Petrina Pitman said the Whang\u0101rei event is about providing for the less fortunate, including the rough sleepers she helps feed each week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Held at Hope Whang\u0101rei, 1 Hunt St, from 12.30pm, it will include a meal with all the trimmings and entertainment, she said.<\/p>\n

The event is still in need of more donations and food, with Pitman encouraging people to call her on 021 136 5253.<\/p>\n

Te Korowai o Ihu Karaiti Ministries will also run its usual free community Christmas Day event in Dargaville.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of people attend the lunch each year at Nazerene Hall, 4 Grey St, State Highway 12, Dargaville.<\/p>\n

Denise Piper is a news reporter<\/a> for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Parents will also get a chance to pick out Christmas gifts for their children, from community donations through…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5831,95,18399,33489,4975,73226,115837,4515,5971,111,43,139,69,13692,90,38889,13737,223,7563,810,6436,1869,102],"class_list":["post-182583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-alive","tag-and","tag-christmas","tag-donations","tag-free","tag-hampers","tag-lonely","tag-meals","tag-need","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-offer","tag-on","tag-shines","tag-spirit","tag-the","tag-those","tag-up","tag-well","tag-whangrei","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}