As the holiday season approaches, the small town of Waimate is preparing for the return of the Waimate Christmas Child Initiative. Now in its eighth year, the initiative has brought the town together to ensure that every child wakes up to a gift on Christmas morning.
The town of just over 8000, believes the collective efforts of the community can help make a significant change in people's lives. Mayoress and key driver of this initiative Lyn Stringer, works with Waimate’s Community Link to help this happen.
“Children deserve to have gifts regardless of what their circumstances are with their parents. Everyone needs a great Christmas and there are a lot of people out there that their children do miss out,” says Stringer.
Last year the town came together to bring 92 gift packages, each package including 5-6 gifts. This year, Jakki Guilford from Community link is anticipating more gifts than ever.
“With the cost of living and pressures were seeing, plus the closures and redundancies in our community we've seen an increased need of our foodbacks and were expecting that will flow through”
From collecting the gifts that are then distributed anonymously to members in need, this initiative plays an important role in supporting families who may be struggling during what is supposed to be a season of joy.
“There's this huge pressure for parents to give their children the best Christmas they can. With this program we help take away their financial burden, ensuring that each child can have the best Christmas they can.”
However, this initiative is more than just a gift-giving program, with Waimates strong sense of community being shown.
“This community is insanely generous with what they give, so we get a lot. They are wonderful, and the community is more wonderful with the hardship this year. We punch above our weight, were really good at looking out for our own.”
The Christmas Child Initiative not only provides gifts but also fosters relationships among the town's residents, reminding everyone of the importance of community, with Waimate’s dedication becoming a proud tradition that continues to thrive.