Kidney Week with Kidney Kids

In March, Kidney Kids from all around New Zealand celebrated Kidney Week with Kidney Kids! This exciting week was created around World Kidney Day on Thursday 13th of March, an international awareness day about kidney disease.

In the lead up to World Kidney Day, we hosted an online charity auction with Trade Me where items up for grabs included signed memorabilia, a celebrity meet & greet and even tickets to some great events. Thanks to everyone who generously donated auction items and placed bids, and congratulations to those who took home the prizes!

On World Kidney Day, Kidney Kids and their families from all around Aotearoa hosted non-uniform and dress up gold coin days at their schools and pre-schools. Some of our Kidney Kids got extra creative with their non-uniform themes which included ‘bright colours’ and ‘superheroes’.

On the same day at Starship Children’s Hospital, Warriors player Dallin Watene-Zelezniak paid a special visit to the Renal Unit where he met some of our incredible Kidney Kids and the renal nurses who care for them.

A huge thank you to Dallin for generously giving his time and Lincoln Jefferson, CEO of the Warriors Community Foundation and his amazing team for making this unforgettable experience possible.

The next day, our CEO Ian Potter was invited to speak at the Renal Society of Australasia New Zealand Education Day. He talked about the role of Kidney Kids, the importance of the care we offer and how the Renal Association can help promote our services when talking to families who would benefit from our support.

As a finale to Kidney Week, Kidney Kids was chosen as the charity partner for the Warriors vs Manly Sea Eagles game on Friday 14th March, thanks to the Warriors Community Foundation. Some awesome Kidney Kids and their families joined our staff at the game, shaking buckets, raising funds, and, of course, soaking up the excitement of the match. A special shout out to Blake who was chosen to run the ball out before the game.

Thanks so much to all the Kidney Kids, their families and the wider community who helped celebrate Kidney Week with us this year. It was fantastic to see so many Kiwis raising awareness about kidney disease and bringing a voice to our community.