‘Twas the month before Christmas, when down by the sea,
Something began sprouting,
just like a tree.
Bicycles were hung on the boughs with great care,
In hopes that Aucklanders would enjoy the festive flare…
Not just a quintessential Christmas gift in NZ, bikes are also desperately needed by children in rural Sri Lanka to help them get to school. To draw attention to this need during the frantic run-up to Christmas, ChildFund and Network teamed up with Beca, Enterprize Steel and a host of others to build NZ’s first-ever Christmas #TreeOfBikes on Auckland’s Queens Wharf. At 7m tall, featuring more than 100 donated bicycles and countless fairy lights, the up-cycled decoration caught the eye and hearts of many.
Over the course of the massive,
year-long project, ChildFund used this unique and
inspiring opportunity to engage and
build relationships with numerous business , groups and individuals eager to
support their cause. 100s of people donated old and
unwanted bikes to decorate the tree. Such generosity and the tree itself
secured 57 items of coverage across local and national media, and catalysed thousands of social media shares. A timelapse video allowed those outside Auckland to join in the excitement too.
Kiwis inspired by the Tree’s purpose were encouraged to purchase a
bike or other item from ChildFund’s Gifts
that Grow catalogue for Christmas,
benefiting a child living in poverty
overseas. And like its Gifts
that Grow namesake, the #TreeOf Bikes kept on giving too, with working bikes
used in its construction being re-gifted
to deserving community groups in
Auckland such as the Refugee Centre.
