Campbell Live and KidsCan present Lunchbox Day

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Lunchbox Day: How can you help?

3News NZ

Campbell Live is devoting its entire program tonight to fundraising for a KidsCan initiative aimed at providing lunch to those children in the country’s decile 1 to 4 primary schools currently going hungry during the school day.

We wish we didn’t have to.

But research conducted for the Children’s Commissioner and an extensive study by the University of Otago, have both identified an issue Campbell Live believes we must all confront:

270,000 of our children live in households where incomes fall below recognised poverty thresholds. Many of these children experience significant material deprivation, and many remain poor for long periods of time.

The aim is to help these children as quickly and as practically as we possibly can. And an easy way to do that, is to make sure they have something to eat.

Study after study has revealed the strikingly obvious: that hungry children, and children eating poorly, don’t achieve as successfully at school as children eating healthily and well.

We could endlessly debate the many possible causes of this situation, but that won’t make any difference to these children when they need our help most, which is right now.

And whoever is to blame, it isn’t the children themselves.

So, it’s time to do more than simply pointing the finger, absolving ourselves of responsibility, then looking away. We can make a difference that will immediately help these children.

Our children.

Throughout the week Campbell Live has looked at the issue of child poverty and examined its impact.

Tonight, we will host a very special program in which we’ll raise as much money as we possibly can.

Campbell Live would love you, your school, or your business to be involved in our national Lunchbox Day.

KidsCan says it can provide food for 15,000 hungry schoolchildren for $1.8m per year.

We would love your support.

Come up with your own fundraising ideas.

Email us and tell us what you are doing, at what time next week and we will endeavour to get a camera along, or at least mention you on our show.

If you'd rather just raise some money and stay out of the limelight, the bank account details are as follows:

KidsCan Charitable Trust: ASB BANK 12 3026 0348180 03

And you will also be able to text Lunch to 8595 from next Thursday September 27, for an automatic $3 donation to "shout a child lunch".

Thank you so much in advance for offering to help with what we believe is a very good cause.

The Team at Campbell Live
campbelllive@tv3.co.nz

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Comments

2/10/2012 9:55:54 p.m.

Liz P wrote:

Well done to your programme and your team, for actually doing something positive for our children.Your programme prompted lots of debates with my neighbours, friends and workmates and resulted donatiosn. Keep up the good work.

2/10/2012 12:14:04 p.m.

jan.. wrote:

This is a socialist country and it should be the government funding the schools with the proper cafeteria at $2 per child per day breakfast and lunch for the primary school and the intermediate school at $3 per child per day lunch and the High School or College at $5 per child per day' until they leave school, all the above mentioned applies for all the school childrens and it should be deducted from the parents on benefit and working parents tax or stay they at school until 18 to qualify for the unemployment benefit to help while seeking employment.. The KidsCan Charitable Trust should only apply for the children going on school trips or sports or school functions is what we have in mine for our New Government knowing that this National Government failed the people of New Zealand.. "A Simple task..

1/10/2012 11:53:49 p.m.

Lunches! Alllday! wrote:

Yo Andrew.. Just a question, are you a kiwi? born here in nz? I like how you state at the beginning of your comment that you don't want to be 'culturally sensitive' but really you're whole comment is out of date mate, this treaty settlement you're going on about is for land the government intends to sell off, the money for this land doesn't go to Maori or the iwi, but that's another story! Not only are the kids out there of both Maori and Polynesian race they too are of Pakeha and other ethnicity.. This isn't aimed at races the idea is to help kids of all ethnicity who aren't getting food at home for any reason lend a hand bro! I'm pro for fund raising for these events, even putting in a bill or something to include mes halls/lunch halls in schools to feed kids, parents have to pay for education for their kids why can't this include some meals? Full tummies, young brains will be focused on studying and learning! Doesn't have to be fancy food, basic sandwiches, fruit and boxed milk or juice! Also aware of health allergies just a thought!!

1/10/2012 7:14:04 p.m.

Andrew wrote:

Not to be culteraly sensitive but the bulk of these kids are of maori race, now with all the treaty settlements that have gone on over the years should they not look after their own kind, Even the intrest alone on the 500 millon + in payouts should supply an excess amount of funds. why should kiwis help if they cant help themselves?

30/09/2012 5:11:22 p.m.

Brent wrote:

I feel very sorry for those kids, I am a kiwi, and know people around the world think NZ is a nice place to live that is a lot of bull, we have got some very rich kiwis who are just mean with their wealth, just look at Mr Gates, who donates millions and millions of dollars a year to help starving kids around the world. Remember during the great war where we were the food basket for the UK, why don't they just start up the that program, oh thats right we have sold most of our land to overseas investors who don't care about NZ well being. for a land that grows plenty, that is pretty disgusting that kids are hungry, this will bring the generation of kids with social problems, leading to crime. Our government has got big parcels of land still under their control that they can use to grow food, why not use it! and you wonder why kiwis are leaving NZ. Every year when I go back to NZ I always donate money and food to the food banks because it is a just cause

30/09/2012 10:29:24 a.m.

Selim wrote:

A very commendable effort and congrats on taking this issue up, but only enough was collected for only 1 meal once for a 100000 children. Reminds me of the Asian saying "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach man how to fish and you feed him for life". We need to look at how parents can feed their children - after all its 15$ per week per child and even on unemployment benefit this is manageable with good budgeting.

29/09/2012 12:40:31 a.m.

Lunch in the Future wrote:

I appreciate Campbell Live's efforts to highlight poverty (and it's consequences) in New Zealand. Hopefully the levels of sentiment that motivated this fund-raising run can be maintained in the longer term and drive people elected to parliament to turn around related wealth divide and unemployment problems stemming from our government's past and current fiscal and social policies.

28/09/2012 7:08:53 p.m.

Minar wrote:

Thank you Campbell Live for reiterating time and time again that it is not the fault of the children that they are going hungry. I have heard so many comments from people "it's not our problem when these parents just can't make food a priority for their kids." "The parents have to make better choices with their money". I agree that SOME parents need to rethink their spending but there are so many good parents out there who do care and they are being lumped under the same umbrella. In order to truly understand how these families are living you have to walk a mile in their shoes, until then it's all just speculation. This is a vicious cycle that just repeats itself from one generation to the next. The only way we can change this is if ALL NZders pull their heads out of the sand, stop pointing fingers at the poor, the government, and anyone else they can blame and instead, offer a helping hand in whatever way they can. This might be a $3 txt to KidsCan, helping with fundraising, sponsoring a child through KidsCan for 49c/day or maybe just donating a bag of compost to their local school for their vege garden. Whatever!!! It all helps. Without Education kids can't learn and break the cycle of poverty if they are hungry. So come on NZ, stop complaining and get off your butts and help these kids instead, they are the future of tomorrow's NZ. These kids will grow up with better outcomes if we just give them a chance just like we're given. Good luck KidsCan and Campbell Live with the fundraiser I hope NZ comes through for all of our children.

28/09/2012 6:34:43 p.m.

Jan Moore wrote:

We have 4 children ranging in age from 24 to 16. They have never gone without breakfast or lunch or dinner and I find it so hard to believe that children here in NZ are going without everyday. We spend money on our children everyday to help them with driving lessons, fuel, flatting expenses, etc, etc and I don't even hesitate to provide these things for them without a thought for the cost - aren't our children lucky!!! We will be donating $400 dollars ($100 for each of my children) tonight to the KidsCan lunchbox cause - coz thats probably what I have spent on my kids this week so I can certainly helpout another few NZ kids too. Thanks Campbell Live for bringing this issue out in the open and giving us all the opportunity to do something about it.