FESTIVE CHEER
Sending the Christmas love
A move to make Christmas merrier for lonely people has been given a jump start in Palmerston North.
Awapuni woman Caroline Dalziel, a card maker who ‘‘just loves Christmas’’, has been sharing the festive cheer with Sending Love, a community-based movement that sends Christmas cards and messages to rest home residents.
She found out about the movement from a Facebook group and organised a drop-box at the suburban Awapuni Library.
‘‘I love sharing Christmas with family and I thought about others who may not have anyone to share it with, so it was a natural combination – Christmas and cards. Awapuni is my local library and the staff there are wonderful,’’ Dalziel said.
Senior pupils from Dalziel’s daughter’s school, Cloverlea Primary School, got involved in a Sending Love card-making session, making more than 100 cards.
‘‘The Warehouse donated the school $50 worth of cards. The children are also making cards and writing messages,’’ principal Leiana Lambert said.
Pupil Te Ata Horomona, 10, wrote a compelling Christmas message inside her card, addressed to ‘‘to a very special person’’. Another envelope was ‘‘to a lovely person’’.
Willow Downey, 10, described the card making as ‘‘a very fun project’’, with googly eyes, ribbons, sparkles and decorative bits and bobs provided by scrapbooker, and school learning support staff member, Faye Milne.
‘‘I enjoyed writing in them to people who don’t have family,’’ said Hayley Mcdermott, 11.
Dalziel had seen Sending Love catch on around Palmerston North, just as it had done throughout the country.
‘‘Another lady set [a drop-box] up at Cornerstone Christian School. There’s one at the Massey University library and at the city library,’’ Dalziel said.
The idea had also attracted the attention of Heather Knox at Palmy Rocks.
‘‘Palmy Rocks have joined in and are making Christmas-themed Rocks For Rest Homes to be delivered along with the cards,’’ Knox said.
Started by Auckland mum and son duo Hannah and Jayden Rodgers, 5, Sending Love is about sharing seasonal kindness around local communities, especially its elderly members, who may not get much in the way of contact or Christmas cheer during the holiday season.