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Lesley Buckley of Manly, left, hands over care packs donated by local women to Auckland City Mission’s fundraising team leader Alexis Sawyers and chief executive Chris Farrelly.
Bags of personal hygiene products and toiletries for homeless women were dropped off at the Hibiscus Matters office over the last fortnight in response to a story in the December 1 paper.
Two local women, Jill Walsh and Lesley Buckley, have been making up packs for homeless women since September and delivered them to the Auckland City Mission on December 6.
Jill says they are very grateful for all the generous donations and that the City Mission was “over the moon”.
Once the products brought into the Hibiscus Matters office were added, Jill and Lesley were able to take 35 bags to the City Mission as well as distributing 10 packs to Women’s Refuge for distribution around the Hibiscus Coast.
Each pack includes practical toiletries (toothpaste, soap, deodorant), sanitary products and a few luxury items such as perfume and hand cream.
The project began when Jill found out about the need for donations of personal hygiene products, including tampons, pads and liners, for women who cannot afford them, or who are living on the street.
City Mission chief executive Chris Farrelly and fundraising team leader Alexis Sawyers, who received the packs from Jill and Lesley, say the need is great for these expensive but essential products and that donations of them are rare.
Chris told Jill and Lesley that there are 250 homeless people living within a 3km radius of the Mission in central Auckland. He said 25 percent of those are women – mostly young women.
Jill and Lesley say they will continue stocking up on these products and accepting donations so that they can deliver further packs to the Mission and Women’s Refuge next year.
