Local students brighten holidays with handmade Christmas cards for the community

We teamed up with over a dozen schools in the Taranaki, Whanganui and Manawatū region to engage students in creating Christmas cards for their local community.

Our customers Cathy and Sue from New Plymouth were both thrilled to receive a special Christmas card. “This feels like an early Christmas for us. It is such an honour that local school students used their creativity and time to create this, and the cards are now sitting prominently on our kitchen tables. It makes us smile when we look at them.”

Our staff also delivered a Christmas card to the Department of Conservation (DOC) office in Palmerston North who are the neighbours of the almost completed 50 homes-development in North Street.

Local students created colourfull Christmas cards for Kāinga Ora customers and their neighbours

The idea for this initiative came from the Community Engagement and Partnerships team in the region.

“We are always looking for ways to partner and bring our communities together to foster a sense of connection, warmth, and belonging,” says team manager Renee Regal.

“With Christmas approaching, we wanted to do something meaningful to show our customers and neighbours that they are part of a larger, caring community. Many whānau or individuals who receive a Christmas card may be alone for Christmas or may not receive a Christmas greeting otherwise.”

One of the schools participating is Carlton School in Whanganui and all students enjoyed being creative while making their Christmas cards.

“The Year 3 and 4 class were motivated, engaged, and excited to give back to their communities,” says teacher Holly Zorn. “It was lovely to see and hear them being empathic, and they produced some awesome cards as a result. It's definitely something I'd be keen to do with my class again!”

Parkland School in Palmerston North was also thrilled to be part of this initiative.

“We saw this as a beautiful opportunity for real purposeful consideration of others (one of our school values) and promoting kindness amongst our community,” says Principal Sonia Mudgway.

“Children of all ages across the school volunteered to make cards and wrote meaningful messages of hope and love to brighten the receiver's day. Our staff were keen to support this great initiative and saw it as a real-life way for our children to think of others, not just themselves, at this time of year.”

“We would like to thank everyone who helped create and distribute the Christmas cards, spreading joy and fostering a sense of connection during the holiday season,” says Renee.