Back-to-school costs: Christmas, Covid extra stress for families in 2021
29 Jan, 2021 09:33 PM
6 minutes to read
Dozens of Bay of Plenty families are on the waiting list to receive back-to-school funding. Photo / Getty Images
Dozens of Bay of Plenty families are on the waiting list to receive back-to-school funding. Photo / Getty Images
Bay of Plenty families are preparing for a tough start to the term as the stress of back-to-school costs is expected to be amplified as many struggle after the impact of Christmas. Dozens of Bay schoolkids were on children s charity Variety s waiting list to get funding for basic essentials including uniform and stationery for 2021.
“Covid has definitely taken a toll on families who are already struggling to make ends meet as many of them are now faced with redundancy, reduced hours or income. “We know of families who overnight found themselves in a situation where they had to ask for help, something they’d never done before.”
Kirk Hargreaves/Stuff
Going back to school costs between $500 and $1000 per child, which is often beyond the reach of low-income families, Variety CEO Susan Glasgow says. (File photo) Kiwi Kid Sponsorship, Variety’s flagship programme, matches children aged 4 to 17 with a sponsor who provides funding for basic needs such as school uniforms, shoes, warm bedding, and opportunities such as sports or extra-curricular activities.
Back to school costs: Families prepare for the 2021 school year
27 Jan, 2021 05:00 PM
6 minutes to read
Dozens of Bay children are on a waiting list to get back to school funding. Photo / Getty Images
Some Bay families are preparing for a tough start to the term as the stress of back to school costs begins to settle in. Dozens of Bay schoolkids are on children s charity Variety s waiting list to get funding for basic essentials including uniform and stationery for 2021 - and the region s schools will receive more than 200,000 items of KidsCan food in the first term.
Meanwhile, low decile schools are reducing stationery costs, sourcing cheaper uniforms, dropping fees and ensuring parents know there is food support at school.
The organisation’s future direction is towards alleviating child poverty.
Tue, 26 Jan 2021
Tue, 26 Jan 2021 New Variety board members, from left: Marama Royal, Rachael Tuwhangai, Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh, and Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo
Variety - the Children’s Charity has recently appointed four new members to its board to help shape the organisation’s future direction towards alleviating child poverty.
With more than 60% of children supported through its flagship Kiwi Kid Sponsor programme being from a Māori or Pacific Island background, Variety recognised the need for the board to reflect the community it supports. The board members were appointed due to their active leadership and extensive backgrounds in improving social outcomes for children and young people, as well as their commitment to reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing in New Zealand.