Emma Helleur, day announcer on The Hits Taranaki, says when she read a news article saying one out of every five New Zealand families couldn't afford Christmas, "it broke my heart".
Emma wasn't alone, the rest of the NZME Taranaki team were also horrified by the statistic and together they decided to do something about it.
Emma says they contacted their local clients asking for help in putting together an initiative they call Santa Surprise.
"We were thrilled with the quick response from so many clients. Q Transport, Glasgow Scaffolding & Rigging, Energy City Recyclers and WorleyParsons all offered help, as did Countdown and Toyworld New Plymouth, enabling us to help four families in the Taranaki region."
Santa Surprise asks for people to tell The Hits team about a struggling Taranaki family, by going online and visiting The Hits Taranaki website.
