For the most part, New Zealanders have risen to the challenge of putting others' needs in front of their own, but some have gone above and beyond.
A new organisation, Support Your Crew, has been launched to help Kiwis find a way to give back to frontline workers.
Founders Kelly Banks and Janine Williams say the initiative allows for New Zealanders to donate to essential staff who are then gifted fuel, food and cafe vouchers with their support.
“We witnessed first hand these amazing essential workers being impacted emotionally and physically. We wanted to find a way to support them to continue the amazing work that they do,” says Ms Williams.
According to the pair, the classification of who fits in the category of an essential worker isn't limited to just medical staff, instead offering a list of those deemed essential, including laundry workers.
"We’ve created a list of who we think are essential workers and they range from your supermarkets to your nurses. Anyone on the frontline and those ones we don’t even realise who are working so hard,” said Ms Williams.
One example was a family in Tirau where the mother, father and daughter are all essential workers at an aged care facility - they were gifted a collective $150 food voucher.
“It was so amazing to be able to ring them up and let them know that we were giving them a $50 voucher each,”says Ms Banks.
The website Supportyourcrew.nz not only allows Kiwis to donate but also nominate and register essential workers to be considered for the vouchers.
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