Restaurants back struggling Christchurch families
Almost 30 of Christchurch’s top restaurants have signed on to a campaign to raise money for families who can’t afford their children’s school uniforms and stationery.
Throughout September, the restaurants will offer a special Bayleys Plate Up For A Purpose dish on their menus and a donation from these dishes will go towards the Christchurch City Mission’s Back to School family support programme.
Bayleys Canterbury principal licensee Pete Whalan says even after three successful Plate Up campaigns beginning in 2019, he remains as committed and as enthusiastic as ever to back a fundraising event that gives children a better start in life. “To me, it wasn’t just about Bayleys giving people some money, it had to be something that had longevity, that could make a difference. We’ve been rolling for a few years now and it’s been very successful in giving kids what they need to have a good education,” he says.
The month-long dining out event is part of a refreshed new look for the annual Bayley’s Plate Up for a Purpose fundraising campaign. Kaiser Brew Garden owner Campbell Parker is one of the restaurants taking part and will donate $3 from every one of his most popular pizzas over the month towards Back to School. “The fact is we are nothing without our community,” he says. “Our community supports us, and it has to be a two-way street, we have to give back. The City Mission is an obvious one with inflation and the cost of living and the times we are in and the hardship of people out there. “It’s a no brainer for us to say ‘we are in the community, we see the effects, we know what it is about and we are pleased to give back in some way’.”
City Missioner Corinne Haines says food is a big part of the City Mission’s work in helping families and people in a crisis and she appreciates the hospitality industry joining in to do what it can for children facing an unfair start at school. “When children are kitted out in the right uniform and have the right stationery, they feel the same as everybody else. When they don’t feel the same as everybody else, they don’t want to go to school … that’s why I believe we are investing in the future of our city because we are educating the children and they are the next generation.”
Past Plate Up campaigns have raised more than $500,000 towards the cause and helped 757 families with school expenses. Those campaigns starred businesspeople and city leaders who were sponsored to cook at a live event. Businesspeople and CEOs are still part of the campaign, but this year they will be busy encouraging their operations to back the restaurants as well as taking part in a fundraising Plate Up gala dinner which will feature an auction.
For more information on restaurants taking part go to: https://www.bayleysplateup.co.nz/