We are a small charity that has been going for 10 years - however the first 6 of those were the Founders (Julie and Ric Hancox) working on their own.  We provide service dogs for people with disabilities, some being children with autism, cerebral palsy, degenerative disorders resulting in wheel chair use, and  others adults with diabetes, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Epilepsy.

We are committed to providing a quality service which evaluates applicants individually, and provides assessment, training and follow up support to meet each clients specific needs.

The dogs we provide perform tasks for our clients which enable them, and their families, to function better in their homes and communities.  We are internationally accredited by Assistance Dogs International and therefore recognised by the New Zealand Government which grants our dogs public access.

How we spent the money

Last year ADNZ Trust was grateful to receive $1300 from The Giving Tree through your purchase of cards, selecting us as your charity and subsequent kind donations.

The money was put towards the pre whelping vet visit and x-ray for the then expectant mother to be Brood Bitch Frankie.  Frankie has three healthy wee pups born 20th August 2018.

Duffy Books in Homes provides free books, three times a year, to over 100,000 New Zealand children in low-decile schools. For every twenty seven Christmas cards purchased from The Giving Tree one child will receive all the benefits of the Duffy programme for an entire year.

Duffy Books in Homes vision is to break the cycle of booklessness in New Zealand by inspiring a love of books in Duffy children so they become adults who inspire a love of reading.

Children receive a minimum of five brand new books of their choice each year at no charge.  In addition, children can earn weekly 'Caught Being Good' book awards as well as other awards for effort and attitude.  Prominent New Zealand Role Models present the books and spread the message 'It's Cool to Read and Cool to Achieve!'

Visit us at www.booksinhomes.org.nz

How we spent the money

In 2016, 66 children received a minimum of five brand new books of thier choice thanks to the generosity of businesses working with The Giving Tree.
Many of these children have little or no reading material in their homes so the gift of reading will make an enourmous difference to their lives.
Duffy Books in Homes celebrates its 21st birhtday in 2015 and we're thrilled that The Giving Tree and its supporters have been able to contribute to the more than 10 million books we have distributed since 1994.

For most of us Christmas means joy, and an opportunity to relax with family and loved ones.  But for others this time of year brings financial pressures, isolation, violence or even thoughts of suicide. This Christmas and holiday season, thousands more New Zealanders will reach out to Lifeline Aotearoa.  We have recently trained 40 new volunteers adding to our over 100 trained volunteer phone counsellors  and between this January and March we received more that 29,000 calls.  By donating to Lifeline Aotearoa through The Giving Tree, you are helping to ensure that over Christmas, when New Zealands are reaching out for help, they have somewhere to turn.

Visit us at www.lifeline.org.nz

How we spent the money

As well as the 40 newly trained volunteers we also launched the new text support service - a free service where people can speak to a qualified counsellor or trained volunteer by texting HELP (4357).  It's been well used so far and we thank The Giving Tree and their customers for helping us finance this critical new service.

Look Good Feel Better offers free programmes into the community for any person, facing any cancer, in any region of New Zealand.

Look Good Feel Better is the only support charity dedicated to providing practical, effective programmes to help New Zealanders manage the visible side effects that cancer and its treatment can have on their appearance.

Look Good Feel Better classes aim to improve confidence, self esteem and well-being.  They are an opportunity to relax, do something practical, and connect with people who may be experiencing something similar.  Our local classses are free, and provide an experience for participants to gain control and normality at a time when treatment may have taken over thier lives.

We rely entirely on donations, the generosity of the cosmetic industry and the work of volunteers to keep supporting people impacted by cancer.  By choosing to donate through the purchase of The Giving Tree Christmas cards you help make a difference to people's lives when they need it most.  Every dollar goes directly to running the workshops. Please vist our website www.lgfb.co.nz or find us on Facebook LookGoodFeelBetterNZ

How we spent the money raised in 2017

Thank you to The Giving Tree and all your wonderful clients who purchased cards in 2017. You have helped fund free classes for any person, facing any cancer, at any time during their cancer treatment. Classes are community based and offer cancer patients an opportunity to connect, and have that one day away from everything medical.

As Annie, a 2018 participant said "When I looked in the mirror I saw confidence, not cancer, and for me that is massive".

Thank you for helping people like Annie face their cancer with more confidence.

Macular Degeneration (MD) is a growing epidemic and is the leading cause of blindness in New Zealand.  One in seven people over 50 years of age will get MD.  If left untreated, MD leads to blindness.  With 1,500,000 people in the at risk age group, 160,000 diagnosed and 33,000 suffering from vision loss, the work of MDNZ is vital in saving sight for thousands of New Zealanders.

MDNZ aims to reduce the impact and incidence of MD in New Zealand by raising awareness, providing information, education and support and providing referral pathways to effective treatments and low vision aids.  Awareness is the key to saving sight and through the sale of these Christmas cards more people will know of MD, know of this eye disease and of the support provided by MDNZ.  As awareness grows so does the demand for services.  The 'save sight' helpline took four times the number of calls in 2014 over 2013, and three times the information packs were sent out.  For more information please visit our website www.mdnz.org.nz

How we spent the money

MDNZ is extremely grateful to The Giving Tree to provide us with this opportunity to raise funds to provide services. All of our services are funded by donations, grants and sponsorship and we could not meet the needs of the NZ community without every contribution that we receive. As awareness of this eye disease increases, so does demand for information and support.

The funds raised through The Giving Tree has enabled us to send information packs out to callers to our save sight helpline.

Thank you to The Giving Tree and all of those who purchased Christmas cards last Christmas.

Save the Children delivers world-class solutions and sustainable results for children in 120 countries.  We do whatever it takes to create a better future for children.

We are working to ensure that by 2030:

No children dies from preventable causes before their fifth birthday

All children learn from a quality basic education

Violence against children is no longer tolerated

Save the Children responds to major emergency appeals around the world such as the Syrian refugee crisis and the East Africa food crisis.

We also help children and their families to become strong and well prepared for disasters so that when they do strike children can continue their education and their families can continue to earn a living.

Every time you buy a Christmas card from The Giving Tree and you nominate Save the Children, you're supporting thousands of children in our programmes across the Asia Pacific region and here in New Zealand.

Thank you for your support in helping us helping children.

UNICEF is the United Nations Children's Fund.  We are the world's leading aid agency for children and our mission is to create a better world for every child.  We achieve this by making sure that the rights of children all over the world are recognised and protected.

The money raised from the sale of these cards will be used to support UNICEF's response to the present crisis in Syria.  There are hundreds of thousands of traumatised children who need access to clean water, sanitation, health care and education.  We are also providing clothing and blankets for the upcoming winter.  Your support will be gratefully received.

To learn more please visit our website  www.unicef.org.nz/syria

How we spent the money

Thank you so much to The Giving Tree and everyone who buys a Christmas card in 2018.  All the funds raised from the sale of cards will support our work with vulnerable children affected by the ongoing Syrian crisis.  The money donated from the sale of last year's cards went to help provide lifesaving supplies such as warm winter clothing, clean drinking water, vaccines and medical supplies, as well as life changing education and psychological support.  The situation for Syrian children remains desperate, they've been forced from their homes, often traumatised, they're arriving into surrounding countries exhausted, dehydrated and frightened.  They live in camps or with local families and their resources are stretched.  We urgently need support to continue providing water, health care, education, blankets and winter clothing kits for the coming winter.  Your support by purchasing Christmas cards will be gratefully received.