Four very Good reasons for a Good Registry

By Tracey Bridges - Happy birthday to me!

This year was an even happier birthday because, thanks to all my generous and lovely friends and family, I was able to share $1,500 with WELLfed, a small charitable trust in Porirua, just through the simple act of having a birthday.

Well there was a tiny bit more to it than that.  Through the simple acts of having a birthday, setting up a Registry, and then telling people about it.

I thought I’d share how that went, in case other people are thinking about setting up a birthday Registry, and wondering how it goes.

The setting up bit is really easy, and I do it most years. The harder thing can sometimes be sharing it with people and inviting them to give. I don’t usually go around asking people for birthday presents, that can feel a bit awkward. So in the past I’ve just told my partner about it, so if people ask him what I want for my birthday, he can give them the link. That’s nice, because it’s there if people want to use it, but I don’t have to be out there shouting about my birthday.

But this year I decided to do a little more. This is a really hard time for charities and communities, so it seemed to me that if I could make use of this opportunity to raise funds for a charity that’s doing great things in the community, I should. 

So as well as setting up my Registry and sending the link to my partner, I also shared it – with a little bit of a story about WELLfed and its good works - through LinkedIn and Instagram. I also shared it in a couple of WhatsApp groups with some good friends.

And over the 20 days the Registry was live, 27 lovely people gave a total of just over $1500 to WELLfed. That’s amazing! And as I watched the little total grow, and read the beautiful messages from friends and family, I felt very loved, and very happy to be sharing the love with WELLfed. 

Good Registries, to me, have four very Good purposes.

• First, they make things easy for friends and family who want to buy a present, but don’t know what to buy. They make giving simple, and for some of my family, in particular, that’s a genuinely lovely thing.
• Second, I get a gift I want! And – implied – I don’t get gifts I don’t want. Which is good for everyone, including the environment.
• Third, the charity gets some promotion – I shared its story, and whether they gave me a gift or not, lots of people read it and will have learned more about WELLfed and its amazing work.
• And fourth, of course, the charity gets a little – or sometimes a lot – of money.

So this year I turned 55. Having lost some dear friends way too young, I’m very aware that every birthday is a precious gift.  Thank you to The Good Registry, and all my family members and friends, for helping me make such Good use of that precious gift.