Looking back over the eight years Do Some Good has been running, gives our team a special appreciation for the care and love given to tamariki by tumuaki, kaiako, and other staff in kindergartens and schools.

Do Some Good was born from a conversation between a teacher-aide at Arakura School who is a sister in law to a VSCT board member. She relayed to him that she was bringing in a loaf of bread every day to make sandwiches and toast for tamariki.

Following this conversation, two board members met with the Tumuaki of Arakura School, and came to understand the great need for support. After sharing what they learned with the remaining board members, the collective resolve of the VSCT board was galvanised to support tamariki, whānau, and the school community, as a whole.

Thus, Arakura School became the first Do Some Good school, and we began making weekly trips into Wainuiomata, where the school is based, to deliver kai.

As our relationship with Arakura School grew, word began to spread to other schools. Tumuaki spoke to one another about what we were doing and began to contact us to enquire if Do Some Good would work at their school.

Soon enough, the Do Some Good Programme started at Porirua School, and Tawa based, Hampton Hill School. Shortly after that we also began supporting Tui Park Kindergarten in Linden, who are part of Whānau Manaaki - an umbrella non-profit organisation many of Wellington’s, Hutt Valley’s, and Porirua’s kindergartens have membership too.

The 2020 lockdown brought to light the need for more support for schools. Wellington City Council reached out to us after the first lockdown, asking if we could support the most at need schools within the Wellington rate payer area, and from those conversations, our programme was implemented in 5 more schools.

During the Covid era we also delivered food hampers to whānau who were doing it tough in lockdown, on average delivering 190 each week.

Over time, more kindergartens also partnered with Do Some Good. Whānau Manaaki spoke about us with kaiako from kindergartens within their organisation, letting them know how support from Do Some Good could benefit the kindergartens they were teaching at. Kaiako then began reaching out to us about support.

Do Some Good is continually evolving to ensure it is an adaptive programme built to respond to what best serves schools and kindergartens. Kaiako and other staff take a real lead in our programme, letting us know what kai would be best for tamariki in their care before we make our weekly deliveries, and once it has arrived, providing it to tamariki in a way that meets their needs.

We take great pride in the relationships we have built with schools and kindergartens. Something we have found to be particularly enriching for these relationships, aside from our regular deliveries of fresh kai each week, is our Do Good days. Volunteers from the business community work with our team to undertake important mahi such as painting, gardening, window cleaning, and other jobs kaiako, and other school staff do not have time to complete. Tamariki are a big part of our Do Good Days, and have fun mucking in with us and volunteers. After mahi, we celebrate with tamariki through having a sausage sizzle and playing games.

We know tamariki are better able to engage in their learning, manage big emotions, and connect and engage with kaiako, and their peers when they have consistent access to kai.

Need for support from the Do Some Good programme has not decreased over the past eight years. Recently, kaiako and other staff have been asking for shoes, clothing, and stationery for tamariki, which can be big costs to whānau, especially when older or younger siblings also need these items. Providing kai for whānau to eat together in their whare, has also been a growing area of focus for us.

The heart of Do Some Good has remained the same since we began. We do good because we believe no-one in Aotearoa deserves to go hungry, and we want all tamariki to be able to learn, grow, thrive, and flourish throughout the time they spend in education, as well as in all other areas of their lives.