Pupils embrace spirit
Organisers amazed by volume of foodbank donations
Anew Fill the Bus record has been set thanks to the Rotorua community. A total of 10,041 items were donated, beating the previous record of 9376 in 2020 and last year’s total of 6597.
Salvation Army Rotorua corps officer Hana Seddon yesterday evening said the community smashed it out of the park.
“We are ready to prepare to support families for Christmas and beyond.”
She said the quality of donations was incredible and there were lots of thoughtful items and gifts that were not normally donated.
The Hits presenter Paul Hickey said it was pretty overwhelming and heart-warming to see the community's support.
“I'm blown away by the generosity of everybody.”
Kids from 15 Rotorua schools wore their generous hearts on their sleeves and smiles on their faces yesterday as they lined up to support the campaign with donations for the Salvation Army Foodbank.
Each December for the past eight years, a Cityride bus has driven across Rotorua from 7am to 5.30pm, calling on businesses, schools and local residents to donate food items to the foodbank ahead of Christmas as part of The Hits Rotorua’s Fill the Bus campaign.
Fill the Bus is part of the six-week Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal, run in conjunction with the Rotorua Weekender and The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM.
Glenholme School students proudly displayed their can count on a handmade sign to greet the bus as it drove in: 1061 cans.
But deputy principal Molly Norton said she hadn’t counted the new cans brought in yesterday morning, so the count could reach 1100 cans.
Norton said even though the school participates in Fill the Bus every year, they wanted to bring in more donations in 2022.
“So, we held a competition, and the class to bring in the most cans will get a pizza lunch.
“They absolutely loved it, and our student leaders have been visiting different classrooms and being really encouraging.”
Otonga Primary School principal Gareth Cunliffe also believed his students and their families had gone above and beyond in their generosity, bringing in more donations than they did in 2021.
Cunliffe said his students loved putting their donations on the bus.
“They talk about it before the day — especially the leaders, because they know they will get their turn to fill the bus.”
Cunliffe said the school started collecting donations two weeks ago and initially only had two boxes.
“Then this morning, truckloads came in. They love giving. They feel it in their hearts.”
Rotokawa School principal Regan Williams said they had been collecting donations for about four weeks.
“A lot of the kids remember the visit last year, and they understand why they’re donating the food.
“They were most excited about the people with the masks and lollies.”
Williams said participating in Fill the Bus taught the students about being kind, caring and understanding. “That’s the most important thing.” Rotorua Primary School principal Fred Whata said it was “happy to support a wonderful cause”.