Words
Monique McKenzie
Photographs
Emily Chalk /
The Australian Women’s Weekly
THEN YOU CAN GO TO BED WHEN IT’S
FREEZING COLD AND THINK, ‘ONE CHILD’S
GOING TO BE WARM’
made, and hard-wearing in 65% cotton
and 35% polyester anti-pill eece, the
hoodies are good quality. For many of the
children who are given one, they’re the
rst new piece of clothing they’ve ever
owned. They’re also a welcome relief for
parents who may not be able to afford the
school jumper.
To ensure the recipients aren’t judged
by their peers, school principals discreetly
distribute the hoodies to children they
know are in need. “We can say, ‘Hey, we’ve
got 60 hoodies to give you,’ and the
principals will come back with the exact
sizes they need because they know the
families and the individual children,” says
Paulette. “We get the right sizes, drop
them off and they distribute them.”WASHER WOMEN
Paulette says that in some cases, the cost
of electricity or not owning a washing
machine sees parents keep their kids at
home because their school uniform isn’t
clean and they’re “too proud” to send
them to school with a dirty one. In light of
this, she and Sonya have created a second
initiative, Project Wish Wash, installing a
washing machine and dryer into one
school as a test model.
Children can visit the school of ce in
the morning, get changed into a spare
uniform while handing over their own to
be washed by staff, and at the end of the
day they’re given it back, with their
classmates none the wiser. The appliances
do double duty, enabling the teachers to
wash the school’s sick bay sheets as well.
It’s still early days for Project Wish
Wash, but Paulette and Sonya are
gathering evidence on how it’s working –
and so far it’s really promising. The sisters
hope to start approaching corporates
soon and obtain funds to roll out the
concept to additional schools.JUST DO SOMETHING
“Double Happy is also increasing
children’s awareness about other New
Zealand kids out there who aren’t as well
off,” says Sonya. One of its biggest
advocates is Paulette’s nine-year-old
daughter, Charlotte. She’s started what’s
dubbed The Kind Tribe because, in her
words, her classmates are being kind to
other people by purchasing hoodies.Each month, we reward our Beauty
of Giving interviewees and the person
who nominated them with a gift.
This month, the Weleda Pomegranate
prize, worth $200, includes fi rming day
and night cream, and regenerating
body lotion, body oil, body wash and
hand cream. To nominate, email
[email protected] with
‘Beauty of Giving’ in the subject line.To fi nd out more about Double
Happy’s mission and support
the initiative, check out
doublehappykids.co.nznter
& win
Charlotte’s so passionate about the buy-
one-give-one model that she’s trying to
convince Paulette to start Double Happy
Baby – proposing the idea of selling
beanies and wraps for babies in need.
It’s all in an effort to keep sharing the love,
says Paulette, who hopes Double Happy
Baby will come to fruition next year.
When Double Happy launched,
Paulette and Sonya were met with the odd
comment about how hoodies weren’t
going to solve the issue of poverty because
it’s simply too big. Paulette says that’s not
the point.
“Our view is: just do something. Then
you can go to bed at night when it’s
pouring down and freezing cold and
you’ve got your central heating going, and
think, ‘Hopefully those kids have hoodies
on tonight; one child’s going to be warm
this winter.’ Every little thing helps.”
*If you’d like to purchase a wear-one-
share-one Double Happy hoodie, head to:
doublehappykids.co.nz. If you don’t need a
hoodie for yourself or someone you know but
still want to help, you can order a Double
Happy Double-Up, in which both hoodies
will be given to children in need.Buyers can choose to buy a
hoodie for themselves with a
Double Happy logo, but the
one they gift is unadorned.SEPTEMBER 2019 / NEXT 57
INSPIRATION