The money guide for Kiwi women

Many of us have made donations to charity, but what would it be like to turn your philanthropy into a business? Nicky Pellegrino meets seven New Zealand women helping to make life better for others.

Double Happy Kids

When she learned that 3000 Kiwi kids are living in poverty, Paulette Cotter was shocked. But rather than assuming there was nothing she could do about it, the Auckland business strategist swung into action.

Paulette approached easing child poverty as she would working with any of her clients. “When I’m developing products or strategy, the first thing I do is find out the needs of the customer,” she explains. “So I asked, ‘What are the needs of these children?’ I decided to talk to some principals of low-decile schools because they would have good insights.”

What she learned from them surprised her. For while there are some good initiatives to help feed kids from low-income families, there is a hidden issue around absenteeism, particularly over winter. “Kids get really sick, they’re not in school so they’re not learning, and education is one of the ways out of poverty,” says Paulette.

Overcrowded, cold, damp homes are a part of the issue but there didn’t seem any way that she as one individual could tackle that. “Then I started thinking about providing warm clothes, like hoodies, and the principals thought it would be a great idea.”

That is when Paulette roped in her sister, interior designer Sonya Cotter.

“She told me the story and I was sure I could do something to help,” says Sonya.

They came up with Double Happy Kids.

It’s a “wear one, share one” deal. Buy a cool hoodie emblazoned with a design by a local street artist, and a cosy, good-quality hoodie is donated to a child in need via their school.

“We don’t have to fix the world, we just have to fix our community, and that’s what

we’re attacking,” says Sonya.

In that first year the sisters were hoping to help keep 50 children warm over winter, but the response was so positive they ended up giving away 220 hoodies. The next year that increased to nearly 400 and it looks set to continue growing.

“We both have busy full-time jobs,” says Paulette. “We do this in the evenings and weekends. And, actually, it can be the best part of the day. I’ll come home, have dinner with my daughter, then there’ll be 50 hoodies to pack and send out. It just works, you get through it somehow.”

There has been great feedback from kids. “Not only because they’re warm, but they’ve got something that is brand new, it’s their own and hasn’t been handed down,” says Paulette. “We’ve also heard from principals about changes in kids and school attendance, and just general wellbeing.”

When they started out, neither sister even had her own Facebook page.

Now they are whizzes at social media and have even built a website. They also have a second initiative, Project Wish Wash. This came about after one principal told them there was an issue with hygiene and kids not having clean uniforms. So Paulette and Sonya raised money to install a washing machine, dryer and shower in that school.

“We did things like had friends over to our houses for the night and had them pay $25 to get in the door. We fundraised enough for a second school as well,” says Paulette.

At social functions the Cotter sisters sometimes find themselves being told what they are doing isn’t going to fix things or make a big enough difference in the long run. That is not a view they share at all.

“If everyone thinks a problem is too big or too hard then no one will do anything,” says Paulette. “You have to start small. If one child is warm, or feels better because they’ve had a shower, then it’s worth it. Winter can be pretty brutal in New Zealand but on those crazy rainy nights we know at least there are 400 children who have hopefully got their hoodies on.”