Shoebox Christmas: Making a difference for rangatahi in Aotearoa
Pera Barrett delivering Shoebox Christmas gifts to tamariki
Shoebox Christmas is a nationwide initiative that supports both tamariki and rangatahi across Aotearoa through the gift of giving and learning.
In 2014, Pera Barrett (Te Ātiawa ki Whakatongotai, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira), from Ōtaki, had a friend encourage him to pick up the Shoebox Christmas mantle in the Wellington Region. After hearing about a similar Auckland project, he partnered with Glenview Primary School in Porirua.
In that first year, Shoebox Christmas gave 80 tamariki a box of joy. Since then, the reach of the initiative has increased to 17,000 tamariki across Aotearoa last year.
Shoebox Christmas' purpose is to deliver Christmas presents wrapped in a shoebox to tamariki, so they know the community has their back. Shoebox Christmas connects people in the community with tamariki through schools and community providers across Aotearoa.
“When I started Shoebox Christmas with just a spreadsheet and Facebook messenger, I didn’t expect it to grow reach this far and this quickly. The biggest eye opener for me was how many people wanted to help and just needed to be given the opportunity to do so,” says Barrett.
The initiative runs on a ‘by the community for the community’ model. "I've found that schools and community providers are better at deciding who gets the gifts because they know what is needed and where," says Barrett.
"I designed Shoebox Christmas to work for our communities since they are the main focus. We want tamariki and their whānau to know that someone in the community cares about them.”
After more than nine years of coordinating Shoebox Christmas, Barrett grew from the process of working on this kaupapa. With his leadership skills sharpened, Barrett was ready to take the next step with Shoebox Christmas, developing a coaching and mentoring programme for rangatahi.
"Two years ago, I thought, what would this look like if rangatahi ran it? I wanted to help equip them with the tools to execute their ideas, like Shoebox Christmas, within their community by sharing my learnings," says Barrett.
Shoebox Christmas’ new coaching and mentoring programme will also prepare rangatahi for the workforce. Modules will cover everything from CV creation and job interview tactics to computer skills and business knowledge.
“It’s a stepping stone to get them informed and thinking about how they could apply these learnings to future roles," says Barrett.
"The programme will enable Shoebox Christmas to grow and make a difference in more lives whilst also opening doors to a range of opportunities for our rangatahi and remind them of their potential."
Barrett partnered with Ngāti Toa last year to run a pilot version of the programme. "The pilot helped us figure out what does and doesn't work for the rangatahi," says Barrett.
"I recognise the need for rangatahi to have access to paid work. My hope is that one day we can pay them to work with Shoebox Christmas and partake in the programme. It’s important that they can learn whilst still supporting themselves and their whānau."
Last year Barrett was one of nine New Zealanders awarded a grant of up to $30,000 from the TSB Good Stuff Kickstarter fund that helps progress innovative ideas that are helping Aotearoa communities.
"The grant came at the perfect time to expand the reach of Shoebox Christmas and get the ball rolling on the rangatahi programme. The support from TSB and JR McKenzie allowed us to start building the programmes website platform," says Barrett.
Barrett describes his work with Shoebox Christmas as rewarding. "We are getting to bring smiles to the faces of tamariki and starting to empower our rangatahi to go on their own journey to help their communities."
If you know rangatahi in your rohe that would be interested in Shoebox Christmas' coaching and mentoring programme, contact Pera at pera@shoeboxchristmas.co.nz
Learn more about Shoebox Christmas’ work and get involved here https://www.shoeboxchristmas.co.nz/