Addressing Poverty In Our Own Backyard:
Variety Launches Kiwi Kid Sponsorship

Variety - The Children’s Charity has launched Kiwi Kid Sponsorship to help tackle child poverty in New Zealand.

Kiwi Kid Sponsorship is a direct way to help local children, coming at a time when the cost of uniforms, school fees and stationery puts undue pressure on already tight budgets. For as little as $35 a month you can help create a brighter future for a local child and watch their progress with regular updates.

According to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), there are around 270,000 children living in poverty in New Zealand. By sponsoring a local child, you can ensure they receive basic needs like bedding, clothing, doctor’s visits, stationery and extra-curricular activities.

Since September 2012, Variety has been working alongside low decile schools to identify those children whose basic needs cannot be met. With the median national household income just over $41,000, some families are struggling (Statistics NZ, 2012). The costs of rent, power, and food means there is often little left to buy a school uniform, send a child on school camp or visit the doctor. Not wearing the school uniform, missing out on a school trip, or not having the tools to learn can make a child feel socially excluded and prevent them from getting the most from their education. At Variety we believe that all children have the right to fully participate in society.

Chris Bush, Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour at Pt. England School in Glen Innes, Auckland says, “The children identified for Kiwi Kid Sponsorship are from families who continually struggle to provide the level of support that their child needs. There just isn’t enough money to afford activities or additional things that could assist their child to overcome a health, social or learning barrier.”

To find out more about the Kiwi kids you could sponsor, please visit www.variety.org.nz

About Variety
Variety – The Children’s Charity levels the playing field for disadvantaged Kiwi kids. Every day we help more than 25 local children – we meet their unmet health and education needs providing them with brighter futures. We work alongside schools, agencies and the government, tackling child poverty so the Kiwi kids who urgently need our life-changing assistance are set up to reach their full potential in life.

Website: www.variety.org.nz
Facebook: www.facebook.com/varietynz

Statistics New Zealand (2012). NZ income survey: June 2012 Quarter. Retrieved from http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/Income/NZIncomeSurvey_HOTPJun12qtr.aspx

Child Poverty Action Group. (2012). Publications and research. Retrieved from http://www.cpag.org.nz/assets/Publications/LFBDec2011.pdf

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