Kennedy Moroney spent her first month in the Wellington Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit after being born 12 weeks early and weighing 1260g.
Her mum Kelsie says the team at the NICU and The Neonatal Trust were amazing — looking after not just Kennedy but the whole family.
So six months later, when Kennedy’s grandmother received a Good Gift Card from her employer for Christmas, it was a chance for the whole family to give back.
Kiwibank gave all 2,500 of its staff The Good Registry’s Good Gift Cards instead of traditional Christmas gifts, so that they could use the money to donate to their favourite causes.
That included Kelsie’s Mum, Marie Livingstone, who works at Kiwibank’s Hastings call centre. And Marie immediately knew she wanted to use her gift to give back to The Neonatal Trust.
Kelsie says that having Kennedy 3 months early was overwhelming for everyone in the family. But the team in the Neonatal ICU, and the support provided by The Neonatal Trust, were amazing — from information about what to expect, to comfortable chairs that Kelsie and Kennedy could recline in while they kangaroo-cuddled, and even a Fathers Day pack for Dad Sam to make him feel important too.
“The team made you feel safe, feel heard, and feel important. It is hugely medical but it didn’t feel hugely medical — It felt like there was a big picture where they we’re checking on and caring for everyone.”
Kelsie said she was delighted when Marie told her she wanted to use her Good Gift Card to donate to The Neonatal Trust.
“I thought it was really special to be able to give back. I would love to be able to do more because what they do is amazing but when you’re on one income, money is quite tight. So it was good to have the opportunity to give and to know it is going to a good cause — because we were directly receiving that support.”
“It’s awesome that Kiwibank did that.”
Kennedy is now nearly 7 months old (4 months adjusted) and, thanks to the The Neonatal Trust and the NICU team, she and the family are all doing well!
Kelsie and Sam both wrote very moving letters to Kennedy about the neonatal journey recently, which they shared with The Neonatal Trust. You can read Kelsie's letter here, and Sam's here.
You can also read how some of the other Kiwibank staff used their Good Gift Cards for causes close to their hearts here.
How you can support your favourite causes too
The Good Registry enables anyone from small kids to big corporates give kindness instead of stuff.
Donate to The Good Registry’s 65 charity partners using charitable gift cards or charitable registries:
- Create your own Good Registry for a special event and ask friends to donate to a charity you choose, instead of buying gifts.
- Give Good Gift Cards instead of traditional gifts (like Kiwibank did), to avoid unwanted gifts, reduce waste, and enable others to make donations to charities they care about.
You can hear from people and businesses who have used Good Registries and Good Gift Cards to give more simply and sustainably, and to help causes they care about, on our inspirational Giving Wall.
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