News

One of our youngest ever donors melted our hearts recently! At just 9-years-old, Macklin Devlin gave up receiving presents for his birthday, instead creating a gift registry with The Good Registry to raise money for Big Buddy instead. So why did Macklin decide to donate his birthday? “I wanted to help kids that don’t have […]

Mum Angela made a very moving speech at a recent fundraising lunch we thought was too good not to re-share. Here is an abridged version… Our stories shape us. Some more so than others and so this is me, with an openness and a few nerves, sharing our Big Buddy story with you. And I

Wellington Mum Kendall has kindly agreed to share her story of the difference Big Buddy has made in the lives of her two now grown-up sons Taine and Cullen. Thank you Kendall, your uplifting and beautifully written story is just what we all need right now! When my boys lost their Dad, with it, they

When we talk to families involved in the Big Buddy programme, one thing always stands out: everyone benefits – the Little Buddy, the Big Buddy and Mum. Wellington’s Laura Virgo, Mum to Jonathan, has kindly agreed to share what her son’s relationship with his Big Buddy, Kevin Stevens, means to her. Kevin rings his young

Recently, before we found ourselves in Level 4, our Hamilton Big and Little Buddies battled it out over laser tag! It was “game one” to the Little Buddies…but after a quick huddle, the Big Buddies took out the second game! Always a great opportunity to catch up and connect with each other, eight matches of

This week Big Buddy celebrates an incredible milestone of 1,000 matches of boys whose dads are absent, with good guys from the community, forming long-standing supportive relationships. We spoke to one of the first Big Buddy matches who met 22 years ago and are still in regular contact. In fact, they are family. Josh Goodwin

Nadine – An extraordinary mother and grandmother It is almost impossible to get Nadine Ledingham to talk about herself. Even for a Mother’s Day story! With five grandchildren aged two, four, nine, 10 and 17, plus her 93-year-old father living with her, Nadine isn’t used to focusing on herself. The incredibly generous and loving grandmother

Thanks to an inconveniently timed lockdown, our final Big Buddy Day Out of the season was looking very precarious… However, with a bit of determination, we were finally able to hold the Auckland day out at Cornwall Park for over 70 big and little buddies and Big Buddy staff – an extraordinary turnout! The sun

At the end of February, we had the privilege of hosting the annual Wellington Big Buddy Day out at Brookfield Outdoor Education in Wainuiomata. Luckily and slightly surprisingly, the capital decided to play ball for us providing a stunning day with barely a breath of wind! Each year our Big and Little Buddies look forward