Miss Lilly’s Angels swoop in for Kaikoura Christmas

All Blacks great Richie McCaw, Santa and a bunch of angels have brought Christmas relief to quake-battered Kaikoura.

Major food and beverage companies and small retailers have climbed aboard for today’s mission, delivering food and wine to selected families and individuals today [December 21].

An anonymous benefactor paid for McCaw to fly Santa and a chopper-load of Christmas cheer into Kaikoura township and outlying areas between Culverden and Awatere Valley.

Donors included North Canterbury-based Hellers have joined McCaw and his even-more-famous passenger, Santa.

A Hellers truck was stacked with bacon, ham and sausages. Other vehicles, including an SUV and horsefloat, will be loaded with Christmas presents, biscuits and wine among other items.

Relief organizers Larina ‘Lilly’ Tiffen and husband Kristian Fuller mobilized the deliveries to Kaikoura township and Clarence Valley.

Since the Kaikoura earthquake on November 14 the couple have received and co-ordinated tonnes of supplies to quake-battered communities.

They’ve started Miss Lilly’s Angels charitable trust to tackle an armful of quake-relief projects.

Tiffen has created a Givealittle page for donations to the trust.

“I want to wake up on Christmas Day and see $50,000 on that,” Lilly says.

Donations poured in for the relief effort, backed by sponsors including Whittakers, Postie Plus and Canon, as well as service groups like Rotary Rangiora.

The volume of donations allowed the trust to expand its original short-list of 10 recipients. Miss Lilly’s Angels worked with Federated Farmers and other local community contacts to identify those recipients.

-ENDS-

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