Efforts to help families in hardship

CAN DO: Douglas Park School pupils have been thanked for their involvement in the NZCU Baywide Can Do scheme that collected 550 cans of food for the Salvation Army food bank in the region. Pictured with pupils at the school are (from left) Salvation Army officer Jess Bishop, NZCU worker Catherine Cockeram, Salvation Army officer Daryn Bishop, and Sasha Bain, of NZCU. FILE PHOTO

New Zealand Credit Union Baywide staff in Masterton have proven their Can Do attitude, collecting 550 cans for the hungry in the region.

The Can Do charity scheme ran throughout August across the NZCU Baywide network of 16 branches and 8535 cans were gathered through the offices, schools and social media nationally, according to NZCU spokeswoman Sarah Thornton.

Douglas Park School pupils in Masterton alone gathered together more than 200 cans of food for the Salvation Army during the campaign with NZCU staff, businesses, and the wider community also involved in the collection of a total of 550 cans.

The Masterton branch served as a depot for cans donated by NZCU Baywide members, Ms Thornton said, and staff members spent a Saturday morning outside a Masterton supermarket requesting can donations from shoppers.

"We are absolutely thrilled with the result and would like to acknowledge the generosity of our members, the Masterton community and of course Douglas Park school, all of whom have contributed to making Can Do such a success," NZCU Baywide Masterton's Angela Matuszek said.

Major Pamela Waugh, Salvation Army social services secretary, said her organisation was "very grateful" to NZCU Baywide and its workers for helping collect cans of food.

"It's a hard time of year when bills are high and people often find they are short when it comes to buying groceries," she said. "The effort ... has made a significant difference to our ability to provide food for needy families.

"NZCU Baywide's Can Do campaign is a great example of how businesses can help make an important and positive difference to their local communities."