Children and animals a perfect mix
Children and animals — it’s a winning combination that’s been raising money for a Northland charity dedicated to rehoming mistreated pets. Bay of Islands Animal Rescue was an obvious choice when New Shoots Early Learning Centre in Kerikeri went looking for a local charity to support.
Preschool teacher Zoe Letica said the fundraiser was also an opportunity to teach the children about kindness, empathy and responsibility.
“If we start with them being kind to animals while they’re young, we can break the cycle [of animal cruelty] for the future. We also wanted a cause the children could be hands-on with and relate to easily — so what better than animals?”
New Shoots staff went doorknocking at local businesses for support and put together three family hampers to raffle off to parents and visitors. Tickets were also sold at Orrs Pharmacy in Kaikohe.
The first prize hamper was big enough to set a family up for Christmas, Letica said. The goal was to raise $2500 for Bay of Islands Animal Rescue.
The charity’s volunteers also brought a puppy and a kindle of kittens (yes, ‘ kindle’ is the collective noun) for the kids to cuddle, and talked to the children about keeping safe around animals. Letica said she’d been amazed by the support for the raffle.
“Every business we approached got behind it. It was really humbling to see, especially now with so much bad stuff happening in the world.”
The early learning centre plans to run a number of fundraisers each year with a different charity benefiting each time.
If we start with them being kind to animals while they’re young, we can break the cycle [of animal cruelty] for the future.