New Plymouth Toyworld's donation to Gabby's cancer cause spreads Christmas love

From left: Toyworld New Plymouth owners Glenn and Kate Demchy, Sarah Devine and Justine Shera. Photo/ Supplied.

Christmas is a time of giving and a donation from a New Plymouth toy store has spread holiday cheer.

Justine Shera has been raising funds for Gabby's Starlit HOPE Christmas present drive. When it came to buying the presents, Toyworld New Plymouth owners Glenn and Kate Demchy refused to take the money.

Gabby's Starlit HOPE was started by New Plymouth girl Gabby Devine, who died of bone cancer in 2015, aged 13.

Gabby started the charity to give gifts to children in the oncology wards at Starship and Taranaki Base Hospital. She completed 1000 "Starlit HOPE" random acts of kindness.

Justine says she wanted to use her social media platforms to help others.

"I run a page called My Balance Project which is about promoting women's confidence and body positivity. I wanted to use my platform to do something good and meaningful to help others."

Justine says she wanted to support the charity.

Justine Shera with some of the toys donated by New Plymouth Toyworld owners Glenn and Kate Demchy. Photo/ Supplied.

"I resonate with Gabby's mother Sarah and I love the random acts of kindness they do. I talked to some of the people on the receiving end of the random acts of kindness and it was so inspiring to hear their stories. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic this is the first year they haven't been able to raise enough money with the drive. As I have over 8000 followers I thought I could help. I wanted to help lift kids' spirits during the holidays."

Justine set up a Givealittle page and auctioned off gifted dresses and Saben designer handbags. Her goal was to raise $3000 to buy 40 gifts for kids and their parents at Taranaki Base Hospital in New Plymouth and Starship hospital in Auckland.

She says she is "overwhelmed" by the response her fundraiser received.

"I raised $3850 in total. Sarah and I decided to shop at Toyworld as we wanted to support a local business."

Justine and Sarah arrived at the store after hours.

"The staff gave us a brief idea of what games would suit different age groups and then we ran wild in the shop. We shopped for 90 minutes and filled up two large trolleys."

After they had finished, they approached the till with $1600 worth of toys.

"Glenn rang up the items and Sarah pulled out her card to pay. He just folded the receipt and wished us a Merry Christmas. I said 'we couldn't possibly accept this, we came to support you not take from you'. It was very emotional because I knew what this meant for Sarah and the charity."

Some of the toys donated by Toyworld New Plymouth owners Glenn and Kate Demchy. Photo/ Supplied.

Glenn says he was happy to donate the toys to the charity.

"There are people out there in need and Christmas is the time of giving. It's a little bit special giving to children and making a difference for them."

Justine shared a post on her Facebook page, which has since been shared 600 times.

"I wanted to share the story so people in the community can know how Glenn and Kate are supporting the community so we can support them back."

Justine's money will now go towards helping families in need and buying extra gifts for the hospital's emergency department.

"It is wonderful to know the money I have raised will go further to help those in need."