2 minute read
Community: KidsCan
from FYI March 2021
Nourishing the lives of Kiwi kids
KidsCan believes that education is a child’s ticket out of poverty, and gives them the opportunity for a better future. However, children cannot learn when they are cold, wet and hungry, and the sad reality is that one in five Kiwi children are affected by poverty. This kind of hardship can impact their mental and physical health and their educational growth.
KidsCan currently partners with more than 820 low decile schools around the country. In term one of 2021 alone, the charity is distributing 1.6 million servings of Heart Foundation approved food to schools. These servings typically include breakfast items (fruit salad, yogurt, breads and spread, baked beans), snacks (Scroggin mix, healthy muesli bars) and hot lunches (soup, pasta, and butter chicken – the children’s favourite!).
KidsCan also works with more than 100 early childhood education centres (ECEs). The programme, the only one of its kind in New Zealand, gives all children a jacket, shoes and socks, access to health products, and fresh healthy lunches like stir fry or veggie curry.
The charity’s ECE programme began in 2018 and researchers from University of Waikato found: • Good nutrition and warm clothing meant children were more engaged in learning, with increased energy and attention spans. • There were fewer minor health issues, like coughs and colds, leading to reduced sickness absences. • Centres who had been providing food themselves instead spent money on educational resources, improved their environments, and devoted more time to teaching.
Demand for KidsCan’s support further increased in 2020, as families struggled with the fallout from Covid-19. Speaking last November, CEO Julie Chapman said: “Schools are telling us that some students are juggling their school work with jobs to support their families. Others are increasingly disengaged from both hunger and anxiety.
Teachers say some children are just in survival mode, meaning education has become ‘a luxury’. Teachers have been baking, making sandwiches and even stews using their own money. Principals are op shopping for clothes. One school held a mufti day to fundraise for breakfast food. This is a heavy burden for schools to carry and we’re pleased to be able to lift some of that from them.”
Help Kiwi kids reach their potential: support a child in need
KidsCan’s work is not possible without the support of generous Kiwis. With their help, the organisation can make New Zealand a better place for our tamariki. A $30 monthly donation helps to: • Provide nutritious breakfast, snack and lunch foods to 40,000 hungry children a day • Give children their own jacket, shoes and socks • Support under-5s at an early childhood centre to play and learn
Why SCRATCHPAD chose to support KidsCan
SCRATCHPAD, which has a branch in William Pickering Drive, is a group of technology learning centres, teaching coding, robotics/ electronics, 3D design, graphic design and many more and want kids to become creators of technology rather than just users.
“As both KidsCan and SCRATCHPAD share a similar passion for our future generation, it is a pleasure to associate with them. Both organisations are working to make a difference in the betterment of our future generation and their impact on the community.”
E-mail: info@kidscan.org.nz Phone: (09) 478 1525 kidscan.org.nz
