Little things you can do for your community đ±
Trying to make helping each other a bit easier.
I feel like everyone is really overwhelmed right now. Times are tough and for many of us we know itâs tougher for others - so we want to help. But how? I hope this post will give you a few ideas for ways to help your community this week.
We can all make a difference - even if itâs in just a tiny way. Here are some causes to get behind. I hope they help you to feel less helpless.
Together for Te Tiriti is an initiative led by the progressive, people-powered organisation ActionStation Aotearoa. Itâs about protecting and honouring Te Tiriti in the face of continued attacks by the government. They have some great resources and posters, bumper stickers, and placards you can order here to display to show your support for Te Tiriti.
You can also favourite the page of frequently asked questions on the Treaty Principles Bill to fight disinformation. Thereâs also an FAQ on Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The Weekly NZ has a series with human rights lawyer Natalie Coates on the bill:
In Wellington? Volunteers are urgently needed for Wellington Children's Hospitalâs collection day on 5 October.
Theyâre in particular need of more volunteers across:
Lambton Quay & Willis Street
Northern & Western suburbs
PoriruaÂ
Kapiti Coast
With over 85,000 visits to the Childrenâs Hospital every year, your help makes a real difference. If you haven't yet signed up and can spare just 2 hours of your time on Saturday 5th October, please sign up here.
The Prisoner Correspondence Network connects incarcerated people in Aotearoa with pen pals on the outside.
The PCN is holding an in-person volunteer training session at 10.30am on Saturday 5th of October in central TÄmaki Makaurau. You'll get all the information you need to be a PCN mail-collection volunteer (and a bit of kai!).
The time expected is around 2-3 hours per fortnight, and includes picking up mail from the TÄmaki CBD, scanning it, and uploading the mail to the PCN online system.
If this sounds like something you would be keen to take part in, or if you have any questions, please email us at contact@pcn.nz to register for the training.
If youâre outside of TÄmaki Makaurau but want to get involved - You can find out more here.
We are running a mega raffle for families in Gaza desperate to survive the genocide. The prizes are incredible. Check them out here. We also have an option to just donate if you donât want to get a raffle ticket - the bank account here goes into a fund it goes into is a mutual aid fund that we split between five families in Gaza we have been in contact with.
Scams are on the rise and ruining lives, with over a million households in New Zealand targeted by scammers in the past year. But New Zealand is falling behind countries like Australia, the UK and Singapore when it comes to scam protections.
Join our call for:Â
Banks to refund scam victims for authorised and unauthorised scam payments, unless the victim has been grossly negligent. Â
A national anti-scam framework requiring banks, telcos and digital platforms to take action to address scams and outlining their liability if they fail to meet their obligations.
A centralised anti-scam centre where relevant organisations work together to keep us safe. Â
Sign the petition by Consumer NZ here.
New Zealand needs over 5,000 blood donations every week. Can you help? If youâre worried you donât have the time to give blood - you might be surprised at how easy it is. Itâs only three steps! Really only twoâŠ
Check your eligibility by using our handy Eligibility Quiz.
Book your appointment via the NZ Blood Service Donor App, available through the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android. Or buy booking through your Donor Dashboard. Or buy calling 0800 GIVE BLOOD (0800 448 325).
You can choose a specific day and time that fits your schedule and if something does happen to come up, you have our number to contact us to reschedule.
From now, every donation made to the Canterbury Poets Collective Boosted campaign is matched dollar for dollar up to $2,000. The Collective is trying to raise $20,000 by the end of September to lay the foundation to ensure that Canterburyâs most iconic poetry reading series can continue to bring the best, most diverse list of poets from around the motu to you. Donate here.
Last week was Suffrage Day and Auckland Womens Centre asked folks to âDonate a Kateââ the $10 banknote featuring Kate Sheppardâ regularly or as a one-off, to support their work. They really need the support and do incredible mahi standing up publicly for the rights of women, trans people and whÄnau MÄori, providing non-judgemental low-cost counselling and free crisis support & referral and creative, life-skills and self-defence workshops. They also advocate for vital systems change like pay equity. Donate here. They also have a solo mums group which you can donate to here and share with your friends and family.
Last week marked six months since parents of disabled tamariki had their supports removed by the government. We know this is âold newsâ for many, and itâs been hard to get the media and wider public to pay attention to this issue.
Katy Thomas and I recently had an interview on Nine to Noon and you can listen to it here. We would so appreciate you sharing this interview with your friends and family on social media. But we would especially love it if you wrote to your local MP and asked if theyâd heard the interview. You can find info on contacting your local MP here.
You could also share on social media our #didntvote4dis campaign on Instagram. And our #didntvote4dis campaign on Facebook.
Want to share a cause to get behind? Comment below.
I know it can feel hopeless. But if we give up hope - we canât create change. Our impact may not be felt until the next generation or even further. We may not be able to change anything right now - but we must try.
Donât get me wrong, itâs hard work sometimes. But I love this quote by Howard Zinn, from from You Canât Be Neutral on a Moving Train
âTo be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.
If we remember those times and placesâand there are so manyâwhere people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we donât have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvellous victory.â
Onward to victory my friends. I believe in us.
Thank you for your mahi Emily. As a result, Iâve bought a bumper sticker, signed up to be a prisoner penpal, sent the interview to my closest MPs whoâll listen (Ingrid Leary, Rachel Brooking), as our Local MP is so weak itâs not funny (Joseph Mooney), signed the Consumer petition (I recently resubscribed to support them as I love the mahi theyâre doing as well), forwarded the call to volunteer for the hospital street appeal to my two daughters who are at uni in PĆneke, liked the FB campaign I did not sign up for Dis. All because youâve taken the time to curate this information. NgÄ mihi nui đđ»đđ»đđ»
That Howard Zinn quote? Thank you! This is something I will think of when trying to explain to some of my whanau why I don't buy a particular brand of hummus or why I bought a loaf of bread for the homeless man begging or made a meal for a gym class buddy or give blood or volunteer or donate unwanted household stuff rather than FB Marketplace it. Their comment is always "one person doing this won't make a difference" and I've tried to say "but if a lot of individuals all do it then it will make a difference". Now I will still tell them that, but will keep this quote close.