MEDIA RELEASE
30 January 2007

Give your heart to a child in need this Valentine’s Day

Child sponsorship agency ChildFund is urging New Zealanders to make an enduring statement this Valentine’s Day by sponsoring a child in need.

ChildFund National Director Paul Brown says, “Valentine’s Day is all about showing someone that you care. Rather than showering your loved one with flowers and chocolates why not take the opportunity to give them a gift to remember, a child in need. Your gift will not just last for Valentine’s Day but for every day of the year. And for a needy child it is a gift of a lifetime.”

“For many of us Valentine’s Day has become too commercial and impersonal. By sponsoring a needy child you can give a gift with meaning.”

“Tens of thousands of New Zealanders already commit to sponsoring children in need through ChildFund. They make a small monthly donation, which amounts to less than a cup of coffee each day.”

If you don’t have someone special to make a fuss of this Valentine’s Day - or even if you do - there are hundreds of children in need currently on the ChildFund website for whom Valentine’s Day is an unimaginable luxury. They and their families struggle to live on less than $2 a day and to overcome issues such as lack of food, unclean water, poor sanitation and disease.

Child sponsorship helps ensure an individual child, their family and wider community can be given a step up out of poverty, including the possibility of proper nutrition and healthcare and the opportunity to go to school.

Paul Brown says, “Choosing to sponsor a ChildFund child this Valentine’s Day may be the most rewarding Valentine’s Day gesture you will ever make.”

To sign up to sponsor a child or learn more about the benefits of ChildFund child sponsorship visit www.childfund.org.nz or call 0800 223 111.

ENDS

© Scoop Media