And the Relief Continues: Family Fun Packs

To help continue with earthquake relief, Rechurch has been organizing and putting together (thanks to some incredible volunteers this morning) family fun packs!

Earthquakes, because of the consistent presence of the shakes (as well as fear for more/bigger shakes to come), has had more of an emotional and mental impact on the Christchurch community.  Also, as earthquake-related stress is invading every single household around CHCH, there is more violence, sickness, depression, and even fear of leaving home than ever before.  Therefore, Rechurch had to assess the current situation of Cantabrians and came to the conclusion that relief should come in the form of something emotionally uplifting and relationally stimulating for families.

Amy, Joe, and I were searching for ways to reach out most effectively for families in our area and eventually came up with the idea of creating 220 family fun packs - bags filled with prizes, food, and other goods that could help a family host their own "family fun night". 

Inside each Rechurch bag includes: A bag of lollies (candy), a packet of biscuits (cookies), a pack of popcorn, a board game, a family-friendly movie, an UNO game deck, a set of family table talker cards, and a $30 voucher to Pizza Hut.  In 20 of the bags, we are going to include a "special prize", like a weekend getaway to Hanmer Springs or a voucher for ten-pin bowling with the family.  These 20 bags will be given away based on family nominations!  We contacted local radio stations and have advertised for people to nominate a deserving family and the 20 who receive the most nominations will get one of the special packs.

I honestly am really excited about these family fun packs.  As we were putting them together, I was a little jealous because I really wanted one - Ha!  As we explained what we are doing to the church and to strangers and friends around town, everyone has reacted positively to this plan.  Families just really need to be given the opportunity to relax and grow with each other and we are really hoping that these family fun packs provide a positive experience for them.

 

(Side note: Just imagine Amy and I going around the supermarket and getting 220 bags of lollies, 220 bags of popcorn, and 220 packs of biscuits... we had three trollies... it was an epic purchase to say the least.)