Members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rotokauri and Glenview—both suburbs of Hamilton, New Zealand—joined with three social service organisations in the region to gather and distribute food and other items to needy families and individuals in the region.
More than 400 people took part on Saturday, 6 June 2020 in the community service effort.
Church members joined with Te Kohao Health, a local social service organisation, and worked together to collect more than 17 pallets of food, toilet paper and cleaning products that were donated.
Te Kohao has been working to distribute hygiene kits in the area and discovered that in many cases there was a need for food as well and reached out to the Church and community for help. Other organisations involved included the Western Committee Centre in the Nawton, Grandview and Dinsdale area and Marae Committee in Raglan.
“I was so impressed by the generosity of our members and friends and neighbours, “ said Ra Bacon, the Rotokauri Church leader responsible for organizing the effort. “It was humbling to see the quiet generosity of people who are willing to step forward to help their neighbours.”
This project complements another similar project in the Tokoroa, New Zealand area in which local organisations partnered with Church members to collect and distribute food.