Latest News 15 April 2019 | Kiwi boxing hero Joseph Parker is lending his heavyweight support to Middlemore Foundation’s 2019 Jammies in June campaign for donations of pyjamas for children from disadvantaged communities.
The former WBO heavyweight champion is an Ambassador for the Foundation and was on hand at Papakura’s Redhill Primary School to present a class of five and six-year-olds with a brand new pair of pyjamas.
“I love the work the Middlemore Foundation is doing especially in the south Auckland community. This is where I was born-and-bred so it’s a privilege to be able to give back to my community in this way. To see the joy and happiness that a pair of pyjamas can bring to a child’s faces is very humbling.”
Approximately 125,000 children live in Counties Manukau; 54 percent of these children live in areas of high socio-economic deprivation.
Principal Charlotte Castle says the initiative will make a difference for her young charges.
“It means the world for our young ones to get this gift as it makes them feel special, important and that they’re part of a community that cares,” she adds.
Middlemore Foundation CEO, Sandra Geange adds the initiative, now in its seventh year, aims to better the nearly 14,000 pyjamas and more than $26,000 donated for the project during last year’s campaign. With a target of 40,000 this year, the Foundation’s jammies drive is already off to a good start with a donation of more than 4000 pairs from one of their corporate supporters.
“The Jammie in June programme is just one of a number of projects that we work on as part of our role to raise funds to support key health and education projects within Counties Manukau,” says Sandra.
“To see the children’s reaction at Redhill Primary and their beaming smiles as they received their new pyjamas and got to try them on, is pure gold for our team and reaffirms why we do the work we do.”
Find out more about the Middlemore Foundation here.
ENDS