Published on 9th of September, 2024
Respiratory disease is the third most common cause of death in New Zealand, and Māori and Pacific children are the most severely affected. CMM’s Blanket Bank aims to reduce the high incidence of respiratory disease among whānau living in Christchurch’s high-deprivation neighbourhoods by supplying warm bedding to struggling households.
“This has been a bumper winter for the Blanket Bank,” says Blanket Bank Manager and CMM Community Development Practice Lead Fionna Chapman. “We were expecting a surge in referrals but demand has exceeded even our expectations, with requests almost doubling compared to last year.”
Fionna and her team launched an appeal called ‘Every Child Warm this Winter’ in May to boost the number of bedding donations they usually receive. Methodist parishes, Christchurch City Libraries, several community based organisations, and Cashmere Primary Te Pae Kererū joined the campaign as collection sites, making it easy for donors to drop off bedding close to where they live or work. A new campaign website also helped people to learn about the appeal and to leave a cash gift.
“Having collection sites across the city within easy reach of supporters really helped to attract extra donations at a time when referrals were flowing in,” says Fionna. “A highlight for me of this campaign was the involvement of Cashmere Primary Te Pae Kererū and the three wonderful Year 8 leaders Kade, Liam and Will. They organised a blanket drive and Pyjama Day fundraiser in their school community.”
Enthusiastic promotion of the Pyjama Day fundraiser saw the boys raising $530 for the Blanket Bank, with the blanket drive ongoing at the time of writing this article. Associate Principal Clare Doornenbal says that the boys had to develop a range of skills to facilitate a campaign like this and that they went “above and beyond” to make it a success.
Further assistance came from four “amazing” volunteers. “Without their support during this time, it would have been very challenging to keep up with the volume of referrals from people who needed a warm blanket over winter,” says Fionna.
