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Sending love to elderly EMILY NORMAN Car crash victim Rachael MacKenzie has channelled her spare time recovering from her injuries to bring joy to lonely people in rest homes this Christmas. The Masterton mother, who was badly injured in a Pownall St crash several weeks ago, has volunteered her weeks off work as a literacy tutor to coordinate the collection of Christmas cards in the region. As part of a nationwide initiative, Sending Love, these cards will be distributed to rest homes throughout Wairarapa with the aim of making sure nobody feels alone this Christmas. It is the first
time this particular project, Sending Love, has been done, Rachael said. It was the brainchild of an Auckland mother and her 5-year-old son, and has taken off around the country. “It’s made my Christmas really, because I’ve had a bit of a crap year,” she said looking back on the early November collision in which her car was totalled, and her clavicle was broken. That she wasn’t more injured in the car crash is “a bit of a miracle really”, she said. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. “Or maybe the right place at the right time depending on how you look at it.” Just before the incident, she had been helping a man who had fallen into a nearby creek. “He had this huge gash in his arm and he was half-dressed and freezing cold because he was wet. “We tucked him into my flatmate’s ute, and I had got in my car and turned around to go home. “I saw a police officer coming out of Michael St, and thought he was probably looking for the man who had fallen and so I pulled over.” As Rachael pulled to the side of the road, an out-of-control car came speeding down Pownall St, crashing into her
vehicle, which was then shunted into the nearby police car. “The airbag had just clipped the top of my nose and my lip. “It was somewhat of a miracle really. “So since then I’ve just been stir-crazy because I usually work, and have contact with lots of people.” When Rachael heard about the nationwide Christmas card initiative, Sending Love, she knew that would be the cure for her idle hands. Already, hundreds of cards have been crafted and donated to the cause via a drop-off box at the Masterton Library. Some of Rachael’s personal favourites were cards made by schoolchildren that said things like, “To a kind loving soul...”, and “Dear lovely reader… Hope you have a lovely day…”. “It’s so nice that people are just really taking this on board,” Rachael said. “People have taken hours to make these handmade cards. “It’s just really amazing…just pompoms, glitter, and everything that is Christmassy.” Carterton mother Lucy Adlam, who coordinates an intergenerational playgroup in the region has also jumped on board with the initiative, organising collection boxes at Carterton, and South Wairarapa libraries. For more information about Sending Love, visit sendinglove.co.nz.
Rachael MacKenzie is coordinating a collection of Christmas cards for rest homes. PHOTO/EMILY NORMAN
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