Large or small, donations total $5.8m

From cookie bakes and sausage sizzles to busking and a small-town charitable trust, New Zealanders have raised more than $5.8 million for tsunami disaster relief agencies.

This is on top of $10 million pledged by the Government.

The Red Cross has seen more than $3.2 million donated to its Asia Tsunami appeal in 10 days. This total is expected to grow over the next few days as donation amounts are tallied.

"This is the most money ever raised from public donations to a New Zealand Red Cross emergency appeal," said Operations Manager Andrew McKie.

"It highlights how greatly this has touched New Zealanders and how much people want to help."

Red Cross says the most money previously raised was for its Rwanda appeal in 1995, when the public donated $3.2 million, with $1 million from the Government.

The Government's $10 million contribution comprises $5 million for a dollar-for-dollar match with public donations, $3 million to programmes co-ordinated by the UN and $2m for other New Zealand aid, such as helicopter support, plus additional support from existing budgets such as Defence.

But it is not just the Government and donations by big organisations and companies that have made a difference to the fundraising.

Saxophone player Sam Weeks, aged 13, younger brother Ben and cousin Tabitha Clarke collected $791 busking outside a chemist shop in Paihia, in the Bay of Islands.

At a neighbouring town, the Enterprise Russell trust has so far raised $10,000 for the Unicef appeal, and said it plans to raise more through collections and events.

In the North Shore suburb of Browns Bay, eight teenagers spent the day baking cookies which they hope to sell to raise funds for the Red Cross disaster appeal.
One of the girls' mothers, Marian McDermott, said they had paid for the cookie ingredients from their pocket money and would be out today selling them for 50c each at the Westpac Browns Bay branch.

The Red Cross also received $370.90 from mother and daughter busking team Waina-maui Entertainers, who sang and played guitar for five hours outside the Foodtown Three Kings supermarket.

The University of Auckland Sri Lankan Youth Group raised $19,000 for the Oxfam New Zealand appeal through sausage sizzles and collections in Queen St and Broadway.

Publisher Fairfax NZ joined in yesterday, saying it would give $30,000 in cash to the appeal in New Zealand and $70,000 for the Australian effort.

CCF New Zealand reported increased interest in child sponsorship in the disaster zone..

New Zealanders have also donated about $200,000 to Caritas, the Catholic Agency for Justice, Peace and Development.

Newspaper group raises $500,000

Contributions to the APN appeal, run by the publisher of the New Zealand Herald, have exceeded $500,000.

"We aim to raise $2 million from the combined New Zealand-Australian effort," said the deputy chief executive of APN National Publishing, Rick Neville.

APN, which also publishes the Herald on Sunday and regional papers including the Advocate in Whangarei, the Bay of Plenty of Times and the Daily Post in Rotorua, will give money raised in New Zealand to the Red Cross.

Its appeal will continue until at least January 16.

Appeals so far:

Red Cross $3.2 million
World Vision $1m
Oxfam $700,000
TEAR Fund $300,000
APN (New Zealand) $500,000
Caritas $200,000
Save the Children $120,000
Unicef $100,000
Christian World Service $65,000
Adventist Development & Relief $50,000