Kidz First Receives A Christmas Bonus

14 December 2004
News Release

Kidz First Receives A Christmas Bonus

Children at Kidz First Children’s Hospital are in for a special Christmas treat this year thanks to New Zealand’s leading toy distributor, Planet Fun.

Planet Fun will make two special contributions to Kidz First this Christmas – brand new toys and sponsorship of a brand new playroom.

On 14 December, Planet Fun gifted around 500 of its latest toys, including Bratz, Spider-Man, Skannerz, Lord of the Rings, Tractor Tom and LeapFrog, to children staying at Kidz First over the holiday period. 2004 Olympian and team captain Beatrice Faumauina was in attendance at the hospital to help out with the distribution of gifts.

Planet Fun is also donating more than $80,000 towards a much-needed playroom in the hospital’s new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This money will be raised through Planet Fun’s donation of one dollar from every 20Q™ game sold in 2004 and 2005. The “Planet Fun” playroom and the new NICU are due to be completed late-2005.

Planet Fun General Manager, Jeremy Kirk-Smith, says the company can’t think of a more worthy cause to be involved with. “The playroom will be set-up to make life easier for the families of premature babies and will be equipped with toys, games and LeapFrog learning toys from Planet Fun's range.

“The current NICU has no facilities for siblings, so it’s difficult for them to be with their parents or meet their new baby brother or sister. This can place a lot of stress on parents, who are often far away from home and the rest of their family,” he says.

Neonatal Clinical Leader Lindsay Mildenhall is delighted with the support. “Planet Fun’s ongoing assistance makes a huge difference. Providing children with toys and a place to play and learn, while being near their parents and sibling is really important for both their morale and development. The new playroom will also make mothers more relaxed breastfeeding as their children will be catered for.”

Last year Planet Fun donated $20,000 worth of toys and games to the hospital. This was the beginning of a long-term partnership between Planet Fun and Kidz First Children’s Hospital.
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Editors Notes:

Kidz First

Kidz First, which opened on the Middlemore Hospital site in 2000, has an 85-bed inpatient facility with its own emergency department. It specialises in burns, plastics and orthopaedic treatment and also has a large community-based paediatric service.

Planet Fun

Since being established in 2001, Planet Fun has quickly grown to become New Zealand’s largest toy distributor. Planet Fun specializes in branded and licensed products across the Toy, Nursery, Confectionery and Homewares departments. Toy brands include: LeapFrog, Cranium, Bratz, Cabbage Patch Kids, Password Journal, Spider-Man, Wild Planet, Skannerz, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bob The Builder, Tractor Tom and The Wiggles.

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