Help Sarah Saunders and Family - Updates

Change of Closing Date of page.

8 March 2023

Dear Friends of the Saunders,

We are allowing a little more time, for those who still want to give to this givealittle page. Then on 8 June 2023, we will be closing down this page. Thank you to everyone who has given, some of who are still giving regularly. You can also still give directly to Young Life New Zealand Trust (younglife.org.nz/giving) as we will continue to receive donations for the Saunders Family as they transition into their new life. We are just coming up on the one-year anniversary, so this is a hard time right now. It is only two days from now, 10th March, so I don't know what to say. Memories of last year are flooding my mind.

Sarah is finishing her counselling degree in June 2023. And then she will be starting a new life in full-time employment; that is the hope anyway. She will be a fantastic counsellor, as she has been a fantastic youth worker for five years for Young Life. She is already able to take on clients, as she has one paper left to finish.

The children are doing well. They are really the most wonderful people if you don't know them personally. They are growing and changing and make me smile every time I see them, whether in person or online.

May you be blessed if you have given to this worthy family. You can also buy a bird photograph from jeweldesign.co.nz, and the proceeds go to support the family. Daryl loved fantails, and they became a special symbol during this time. Photo credit to Peter Cox, who has offered many of the photos on that site.

Thank you,

Jewel Turinsky

Friend of the family

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We have made it past 67% of our goal!

25 March 2022

It has been two weeks now, and we are making progress on the goal. Thank you to everyone who has given to this givealittle page and shared the page.

The family sincerely feels the aroha, especially from all the many gifts that have come in from everyday Kiwis that do not even know them personally. Daryl's funeral will go forward next week. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they celebrate his life together.

If you have not shared this page on your social media, please do so. We are so close to our goal, it would be a nice gift to the family to have the goal met.

Thank you for doing your part to help,

Jewel Turinsky

Young Life New Zealand Trust

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It's been a roller coaster of a week

18 March 2022

Well, we have made it through week one.

But it has not been an easy week. It has been a very difficult week, and I say that as a friend, not a family member. The media took the story and ran with it. I will say for others, if you ever make a givealittle ... be prepared for the media to take all your photos and words and share them in their papers. I understand the curiosity... it is a strange thing to experience, especially for the grieving family.

The good news is we have raised just over half our goal. And much of that is because the story has spread like wildfire. We do want the givealittle page to spread. And it is a story worth telling. But it is not just a story. The Saunders are real people. They are my friends. And if you pray, please surround them with prayers and good wishes right now. They are together now and could use that encouragement.

And please, if you want to give them encouragement, you can send your letters to this email address: eastauckland@younglife.org.nz . I will print them off and hand-deliver them.

Physical cards and gifts can be sent to: The Saunders Family, PO Box 39796, Howick, Auckland, 2145. They have plenty of food parcels at this time, so we are not accepting any more food parcels at the moment. Okay, chocolate is okay.

We are trying to give the family some privacy at this time. Kia Kaha and your words of kindness are being shared. We are overwhelmed by your generosity too. Please do not contact the family via social media if you do not know them personally.