Like many in New Zealand our community at Bear Park was shocked by the devastation caused by the 7.9 magnitude earthquake which crashed through Nepal in April. Although geographically many miles away from us, our connection through the Maharjan family from Bear Park Henderson, Ranu and Raj and their children Riya and Ruben, originally from Nepal provided a real link between us. Challenged by the simple scale of families’ losses we wanted to find ways for both children and adults to contribute which were tangible to them.
Bear Park Henderson’s fundraising activities included:
A Coin Trail on the words NEPAL spread out in the foyer where little hands found coins in piggy banks, glove compartments and pockets to raise $288…
A Bake Sale where children and teachers baked to raise an amazing $464, warming hearts as well as tummies…
And an art raffle where specially made collaborative art pieces from every room were raffled off raising $334.
These simple hand made contributions were woven with love and making them was an expression of heartfelt compassion. Parents, teachers and children happily worked together to raise a total of $1086.
At Bear Park Herne Bay a pyjama day was held, with teachers and children coming dressed in their finest night attire and raising over $300.
To raise awareness of the cause and much needed funds, Bear Park Dilworth went red for the day and over $145 was donated.
The Bear Park community has come together to support the Nepalese people but the work is far from finished. The Red Cross estimates they still require a further $93 million to support the 700,000 people affected by the earthquakes.
To donate please visit https://www.redcross.org.nz/donate/nepal-earthquake-appeal/
