In its 16th year Kids for Kids, hosted by Suzanne Prentice, continues to entertain and educate children and adults alike. This year marks the return of the tremendously popular Kids for Kids Christmas concert, with a revamped musi- cal selection overflowing with Christmas favourites including: O Holy Night; When a Child is Born; Jingle Bell Rock and Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer. The Christmas Show will run in the South Island from September 15 to November 24. During the show, Suzanne Prentice will talk about her own experience as a child sponsor and how child sponsorship can not only change the lives of children living in poverty, but also have a positive impact on the lives of Kiwi kids.  ...

The Salvation Army is hailing the Housing Shareholders’ Advisory Group report on social housing as an important step in solving the shortage of affordable housing in New Zealand. Salvation Army spokesman Captain Gerry Walker says the deficit in affordable housing of a good standard has long been a major cause of hardship for many families seeking help from their community service centres, particularly in the main centres. Private rents often eat up more than 60 per cent of the household budgets of the families we see, and overcrowding is commonplace, said Captain Walker. “This fresh approach to provide housing for those most in need, and making the private sector, iwi, NGOs and others part of the solution, will be important if we are to make social housing sustainable — now we have to make it work.” The Salvation Army has estimated South Auckland needs another 3000 homes to meet population growth and that 20,000 Aucklanders live in overcrowded conditions....