KidsCan news and updates.

A mum making a difference

When Jules McMillan was a child, even though some Kiwi families were financially stretched, they managed. “I’m lucky that I grew up in the ’80s, because you could have a single-income family.

Damion Ranginui – crosses the finish line, $28k raised!

He ran before dawn in torrential rain, jogged through his lunch hours, and pounded the pavements as the sun went down. 28-year-old Damion Ranginui clocked up more than 500 km in April 2024.

Handball with heart

There were tears of joy, there were party horns, there was disbelief. After 24 killer hours of non-stop handball, our exhausted fundraising legends How to DAD aka Jordan Watson and Jono and Ben from The Hits learned they’d well and truly smashed their $350,000 target.

Damion Ranginui – 22 half marathons in 22 days

He’s now a manager at accounting firm KPMG, but he has never forgotten the feelings of hunger - and shame - he felt as a child living in poverty.

This is not easy reading - but if you can, don’t look away.

No barriers for Gus.

Gus chose KidsCan after seeing the difference the breakfast club at his school made. “It makes me very sad that a lot of kids in New Zealand just don't have the bare necessities, and it showed me what a little bit of kindness can do. It’s a very simple, effective thing that we can do to help.”

Meridian Energy: A Decade of Good Deeds

Leaping fearlessly out of a plane. Donning hi-vis vests and packing pallets with tonnes of treats. Digging deep in school yards to plant bountiful orchards. These are just a few of the heroic deeds that Meridian Energy staff have done over the last decade to show the kids of Aotearoa that they care.

Paediatrician Renee Liang talks about her first-hand experience with children in poverty, and why she donates to KidsCan.

''For preschoolers, something as simple as having their own name on a new jacket is important, because at that age, their identity is developing. Then they go to school, realising that they're as important and as worthy as the next child, and they push themselves to do really well. So, what KidsCan provides might be material things, but it translates into more.''

On The Road with Programme Coordinator Emily Murrin

“I love being on the road. It really holds a special place in my heart,  just getting to know people and their communities and hearing all of the passion and aroha that the kaiako [teachers] have for their kids. Just knowing the people behind the scenes that are cheering for the tamariki to do well, and putting all their efforts into making sure they have everything they need to do well, is huge."