Christmas spirit alive and well

The van load of presents put together by the Rotary Club of Tūrangi and The Warehouse Taupō.

Dozens of children in Tūrangi got a Christmas present his year thanks to the last-minute generosity of the Rotary Club on Tūrangi and The Warehouse Taupō.

Rotary secretary John McNickle said their club President visited kindergartens, schools, the food bank, and many other organisations, coming up with a list of 91 children who met the requirements.

Then disaster struck when a “miscommunication” meant their usual source of presents fell through.

“So, by now, we have all these groups excited about the prospect of presents for all these children and we can’t let them down. So, what do we do?”

At short notice, they approached The Warehouse and told them their plight.

Rotary dipped into their funds to buy the presents and The Warehouse staff selected gifts to suit children aged up to 10, wrapped them and labelled them with the ages and whether they were for boys or girls, and fitted batteries at no extra cost.

“When we got called to pick them up, it seemed more than two or three of the staff had been involved and knew what was going on and had caught the Christmas spirit.

“So, it was well worth the effort from all of those who became a part of this … you know why you did this when delivering the presents and see the smiles of gratitude and receiving all the genuine hugs.”