The Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal for the Salvation Army Foodbank wraps up on Saturday and in the last six weeks, there have been endless highlights.
Since the appeal launched on November 7, donations have rolled in from every corner of Rotorua.
Reporter David Beck looks at some of the highlights.
The first week of the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal saw local medical centres put their hands up to back the cause.
Ranolf Medical Centre opted to 'Fill the Caravan' as a show of support. The caravan in question was loaned to the medical centre by the Salvation Army during lockdown, giving them a place to safely administer flu shots.
Dr Harry Pert said: "We're enormously grateful to the Salvation Army for making that possible. Now, we want to help repay them by supporting the appeal for this Christmas. We encourage people in our community to support the Salvation Army."
The Ngongotahā Medical Centre also backed the appeal, for the eighth year in a row.
The team in Ngongotahā set up a collection box at the medical centre for patients and members of the community to make donations, as well as a bag for presents.
Medical centre administrator Christine Hands said: "This should be a joyous time for everybody and unfortunately is not for a lot of people."
The ball was well and truly rolling as we entered the second week and we took a deeper dive into exactly how things work at the Salvation Army.
Rotorua Salvation Army Community Ministries team leader Tania Hore taught us how to manage our money for the Christmas period as well as just what goes in to a Christmas food parcel.
Week two also saw Toi Ohomai barista students whip up coffee in exchange for foodbank cans.
For one morning barista students put their passion and skills for making coffee into action, giving coffees in exchange for cans to go towards the appeal.
The third week of the appeal saw Level 13 Theme Rooms and Costume Hire and Rotorua Community Hospice get involved.
Level 13 invited attendees at its weekly quiz to dress up in a Christmas theme and bring a can or other non-perishable food to donate to the Salvation Army Foodbank.
Meanwhile, the annual Hospice Volunteers Christmas Lunch, held at Princes Gate Hotel, saw all attendees encouraged to bring non-perishable food to be donated to the appeal.
In week four we had the event everyone had been waiting for; The Hits Fill the Bus.
Every year, schools, businesses and the community turn out in force to fill the bus with non-perishable food items and this year was no different.
More schools than ever before signed up for the event and at the end of the day all previous records were smashed with 9376 items worth $18,752 donated.
That was up on 7166 items worth $14,332 last year.
In the fifth week of the appeal, Lake Okareka Preschool taught their children a valuable lesson about the gift of giving which will hold them in good stead into their adult lives.
The preschool ran a collection of non-perishable foods to be donated to the appeal and the children and their whānau got behind it with enthusiasm.
Quota Rotorua also got involved with a donation of more than 20 toys to be given to children in need as part of the Christmas Appeals.
The Rotorua Lakes Council set up a collection point in its main building for both staff and members of the public to donate towards the cause.
I also took my own look at the inner workings of the foodbank during a morning volunteering.
I learned the foodbank is a well-oiled machine with many moving parts. Another thing I learned was that the Salvation Army aims to help solve the problem of poverty, rather than continuously give handouts.
As well as the foodbank, the organisation offers a range of services to help out those in need, from budgeting advice to gambling, drug and alcohol support.
The appeal wraps up on Saturday but support continues to flood in from the community.
Zorb Rotorua donated a trailer load of cans after holding its annual locals' day during which locals were able to exchange cans of food for various rides.
Hume Pine Rotorua, one of the first to set up a collection for the appeal, made a donation of 216 items of food to the Salvation Army Foodbank after staff well and truly got behind the cause.
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