July 23, 2020
Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse netball defender Karin Burger leapt at the opportunity to be involved with the Donate Your Kit campaign initiative, helping give Kiwi kids more access to sporting gear.
The nationwide Donate Your Kit campaign is a Cadbury initiative with the aim of helping combat exclusion in sports amongst young Kiwi kids. Together with KidsCan and the help of over 100 sports clubs around New Zealand, Cadbury is collecting sports gear and getting it to kids who would otherwise miss out.
Research from Sport New Zealand has revealed that one in eight children feel excluded from sport because they don’t have the appropriate equipment.
World Cup-winning Silver Fern Burger had no hesitation in joining other leading New Zealand athletes, including recognised basketball player Tom Abercrombie, Paralympian swimmer Tupou Neiufi and Rugby Sevens representative Tim Mikkelson in backing the initiative.
``When Cadbury approached me and explained the whole project and what they were trying to achieve, I was very keen,’’ Burger said. ``New Zealand is such a big sporting nation and I think it is great to be able to help more Kiwi kids play sport who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity.
``One of the key drawing points was my existing involvement in community sport both in netball and with my job at Wellington Athletics. I know what it entails and all the community work that needs to be done, as well as the requirements from athletes themselves to be able to train, so that part of it made me very interested in the Donate Your Kit initiative.
``I encourage all New Zealanders to donate sports gear they don’t use anymore. I know I’ve got quite a lot of that at home and you tend to forget there’s people out there who can use what you don’t need anymore. KidsCan ensures donated items get into the hands of kids in need.
``The response so far has been outstanding but I think there’s a lot more that we can do. So, rummage through your garage and shed for pre-loved sports gear and then tell your friends and family to do the same.’’
Communities have been invited to donate pre-loved sports gear via purple lockers which have been set up across New Zealand or contactless courier collection can be arranged through the Donate Your Kit website. To date more than 35,695 donations have been received.
With connections to 787 schools, KidsCan help redistribute* the kit to those who need it most.
To find out more information about how you can donate, visit cadburydonateyourkit.co.nz
*Sports gear collected is cleaned and sanitised before it is distributed to schools.
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