Warehouse Stationery customers have donated $65,564 to parents struggling to pay for their children’s back to school costs – doubling the amount raised in the previous year.
For seven years, Warehouse Stationery has partnered with The Salvation Army to provide stationery and school supplies for families in dire material need as they prepare to send their children back to school.
In the three weeks before Christmas, customers of the company’s 66 stores were invited add a dollar to their purchase to support the back-to-school appeal. Money raised is converted into gift cards that The Salvation Army distributes to client families to help pay for school supplies.
The Salvation Army’s head of social services, Major Pam Waugh, says the vouchers have become an important way of easing pressure on families facing the costs of uniforms, fees and stationery, many still reeling from the expense of Christmas and school holidays.
She says the voucher system has another equally important purpose. “We find many children become socially isolated because of their parents financial situations, so ensuring they have what they need when they start school and are not embarrassed or left out in the cold socially, is very important. Many of our clients’ children have very few personal possessions.”
The Warehouse Stationery store with the most generous customers was Warkworth. Wairau Park on Auckland’s North Shore, Hornby in Christchurch and Oamaru stores tied for second place, and Riccarton in Christchurch ranked third.
Warehouse Stationery Chief Executive Officer Pejman Okhovat says the appeal is one of a number of community programmes Warehouse Stationery supports to help families and young people in need.
“We are delighted by the success of this latest campaign which confirms the generosity of New Zealanders to help others less fortunate than themselves,” he says.
