Whangārei will be filled of purple hearts tomorrow in an anti-violence event in memory of teen Eli Holtz, who died after an alleged assault in Auckland in January.
The family of Eli Holtz wanted something positive to come from the death of the Whangārei teenager and created a campaign encouraging people to make purple paper hearts to show their support for a campaign to create safer communities for families and raise awareness of the magnitude of violence in New Zealand.
Holtz, 18, died in hospital after an alleged assault at the intersection of Wellesley St West and Queen St, Auckland, in January. The former Tikipunga High School student was a passenger in a vehicle that had stopped at a red light about 3.15am. He was put on life support in Auckland City Hospital but later died. Holtz's 19th birthday would have been on August 6.
The Facebook campaign #Justiceforeli has gathered momentum and a community day - Share Your Heart - will be held tomorrow at Whangārei Town Basin from noon until 2pm.
A day later a Share Your Heart community event will be held in London which has been organised by Eli's sister Kimiora Holtz.
As part of the Share Your Heart day 1000 purple cupcakes will be handed out, thanks to help from Pak'nSave, and there will be speakers and musical entertainment.