Next New Zealand – September 2019

BEAUTY

GIVING

THE

of

brought to you by

HEARTS

WARM

L

earning just how many Kiwi

kids are living in poverty left

Paulette Cotter horried.

About 254,000 children are

affectedinthiscountry,andshecouldn’t

justsitbackanddonothingtohelpthem.

With her background in strategy work,

can-do attitude and natural ability to

problem solve on her side, she went

knocking on the doors of principals’

ofces at low-decile primary schools in

Auckland. What she discovered next

shockedheryetagain.

It was a heartbreakingly simple need.

“Theytalkedaboutthisrealhiddenissue

ofabsenteeisminwinterbecausekidsare

gettingsick,”saysPaulette(picturedabove

left).“They’recomingtoschoolinwinter

inbarefeet,shortsandT-shirts.”

Determined to help keep kids in school,

she teamed up with her sister Sonya

(above right), who has a background in

design and fashion. Unable to solve the

bigger problem of inadequately heated

homes, they looked to something more

achievable. Hoodies seemed like a logical

choice to help keep children warm, avoid

health issues and encourage attendance,

so they created a buy-one-give-one model

called Double Happy. For every hoodie

sold, one is given to a child in need.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Now in its third year, Double Happy has

gifted more than 1000 hoodies to date.

Now, Paulette and Sonya want to double

that number and expand into the South

Island. New Zealand designed, ethically

Sisters Paulette and

Sonya Cotter couldn’t

sit pretty while

thousands of Kiwi

kids go cold – so

they got busy doing

something to help

56 NEXT / SEPTEMBER 2019