Punch for Purpose |||

My name is Catherine Rickerby and I’m participating in the Punch for Purpose 3 run by ŌBC. The preparation for the fight night on 30th of November, is a gruelling 10 week boxing camp. My chosen charity to raise funds for, is The Nest Collective Ōtepoti branch to help get packs out to those in need, included in the packs are roughly 200 items of the essentials a baby needs to stay clean, warm and safe. Premature birth, health problems and the cost of living are all examples of how our people find themselves facing material hardship. Material hardship creates stress, how parents are doing is central to babies’ wellbeing and early development. Not having enough resources to support a baby’s wellbeing, such as nappies and warm clothes, creates stress, as evidenced through higher rates of postpartum depression among low-income mothers, that disrupts parents’ ability to connect and interact with their babies in ways that go on to affect their children’s development and wellbeing. The evidence is clear: what happens in the first years of life impacts children’s life-long trajectories. Helping families is the right thing to do and research shows that early investment in children pays off in the long term for families and society. One in nine children live in households reporting material hardship, which means many families face impossible financial decisions, such as choosing between paying the power bill or buying warm clothing for their children. Help me, help the babies.