Every child warm this winter
“Children are freezing. Every day and every night.” Metropol editor Nina Tucker discovers the cold truth about winter’s chill on Christchurch families. One female trio, backed by an overarching organisation grounded in generosity, are bundling up our tamariki one blanket at a time.
“Everyone wants the best for their tamariki, and when you cannot provide the best for your tamariki, that does a lot of damage to your soul,” says Andrea Wilson-Tukaki, community development manager at the Christchurch Methodist Mission (CMM). “The times are only going to get harder and harder. People are holding down a job, or two jobs, and still can’t meet the rising cost of living.”
What that means is that one-third of Canterbury tamariki – almost 40,000 children according to recent Census data – will fall asleep freezing this winter. They wake up to the demands of school, sleep-deprived, irritated, and shivering.
Alongside Andres, Fionna Chapman, Elizabeth McGougan and Tracey Carpenter want to change that. But they need your help. Together, they run the CMM Blanket Bank –
a project of giving and receiving, free from judgement. They answer cries for help from thousands of families by handing blankets and bedding to keep them warm. In the last three years, the number of requests has increased by 61 per cent.
Come the cooler months, one full-timer and two part-timers cover the workload of three full-timers. “It’s a challenge for us to keep up,” says community development practice lead Fionna, “and we’re nervous we’re not going to meet that demand.”
“When we took it over, it was very small. It serviced Christchurch but was small in size and small in capacity,” Andrea explains. As awareness grew after strong campaigns like ‘Every Child Warm This Winter’, the team realised the scope of the problem, the impact their work has on local communities, and how crucial it is that it continues.
But many hands make light work. Volunteering to support their kaupapa looks like a few hours of work each week sorting piles of blankets and filling orders to connect that warmth with someone who needs it. Donating is as easy as visiting www.blanketbank.nz/Donations. “But your time is just as important a treasure to us,” Andrea says.
Volunteer and keep kids warm this winter
It’s a manual job requiring strength and agility to lift and organise bundles of warm bedding with warm fuzzies in return. “When you do something, it makes you feel good,” Andrea says. “We’re all connected, somehow, to children. Imagine if your child or neighbour’s child wasn’t warm, you would reach out and help if you could.
“You’re providing an opportunity for tamariki who may go months freezing in their bed and never get a good night’s sleep, by giving us some of your time to file blankets and put orders together.” In return, find companionship, connection, and a guaranteed dose of good karma. Plus, it’s perfect for young professionals. “We love giving young people skills for working in a team, working in a professional environment. That forms part of CMM’s kaupapa – growing people.” If you can’t set aside a few hours each week, instead unearth your inner philanthropist. The Blanket Bank is born from kind donors, but not to the level it needs. “There’s times when we have no stock. The ability to go out and purchase some stock is something we’d be forever grateful for,” Andrea says. If you have a sewing machine at home and skills to go with it, consider crafting bags to fill with orders, using sheets that aren’t at the standard required for bedding.
A gateway for good
The Blanket Bank is a gateway for something much bigger. “It’s a conduit for conversation,” Fionna says. “People come in and can talk about other things that might be happening for them at home. We park some of those themes in the back of our minds and see where we can connect them to other services.”
“One thing people don’t realise is that people do have to keep coming back to us because they live in such damp, cold houses that their blankets get ruined,” Andrea explains – and the team works on solutions beyond warm bedding. Whether it’s an understanding adult to talk to, or services they couldn’t connect with otherwise, the Blanket Bank catalyses better outcomes for the missing and the missing out, completely judgement free. “You can access these blankets with no judgement. It’s about us providing a safe space for them, and being able to give them decent quality things,” Fionna explains. “Our biggest referrals into the Blanket Bank are self-referrals. We’re talking directly to families.”
The team translates CMM’s overarching values to bridge the gap between needing help and asking for it. “It is going to be a really tough year. We’re going to see people that have never needed to access this before – and we’re here for them.”
Amongst what’s set to be their busiest season yet, the team is relocating to a bigger space – and going full circle by returning to the Blanket Bank’s original home in New Brighton – in order to meet demand. “This is never going to go away, this poverty, this need to keep every child warm in winter,” Andrea says. At 24 Union Street, the Blanket Bank will reopen its doors come 4 May, though there’s no bad time for volunteer enquiries and donations.
If you’re a young professional, a student, a couple keen to give back, or in a group of generous friends, email blanketbank@mmsi.org.nz. “Compromise, and get your boss to let you have two hours off on a Friday to do some good,” Andrea laughs.
