Nā to rourou, nā taku rourou, ka ora ai te iwi  – with your food basket and my food basket, the people will thrive.

This is Kura Kai’s guiding value, explained founder Makaia Carr.

Despite our current climate, 100 women were delighted to gather on Thursday, December 9 for the last Business Women’s Network (BWN) event of 2021, our annual Christmas charity lunch!

Scroll down for more event photos. 

Hosted at the new Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club, the event kicked off swimmingly with a warm welcome from BWN Committee Member Tanya Drummond, followed by the most delicious spread put together by local caterers and Chamber Members Hereford Kitchen.

Then, it was time for Makaia Carr to take the mic and talk about Kura Kai (this year’s charity of choice): What they do, stand for and how they help the community.

Makaia has been a social media influencer since 2012. Makaia explained she likes to use her platform for genuine good, creating measurable community value. One day a follower reached out about the possibility of her sharing about a local community in need of food donations. From here, her passion for the service grew, and Kura Kai was born in May 2020.

Kura Kai has a special focus on supporting secondary students and their whanau. Makaia said there is a shortage of initiatives that provide kai (with a particular focus on dinners) that students of this age can take home with them to their families.

Makaia shared her connection to the topic, stating Kura Kai aims to support more than just the students, but their entire family.

Kura Kai does this by first creating relationships with schools across the country in need, and then through her platforms she shares about the school, so her community and beyond can then support by either making food for ‘compassion freezers’ throughout schools nationwide or by donating.

Once the food reaches the compassion freezers, the schools coordinate meals with their respective students and families.

Makaia also noted, “The kai given to families is making hard conversations so much easier for schools”.

Following Makaia’s speech, BWN Committee Member Rachel Nunn announced that $600 had been donated to Kura Kia from ticket sales. They then drew the winners of a donation raffle, and Denise Simpson (Teamline Ltd) and Raiha Fincaryk (Tile Warehouse) were happy to walk away winners.

Kura Kai is on a mission to ensure every family has a meal at the end of the night. If you would like to volunteer or donate to the cause, you can do so here.

• Article written by Tauranga Chamber of Commerce’s Member Liaison Lani Wreaks.