School club delivers gifts to East Care staff

Each term the Howick College Z Club works on an initiative to give back to the community.

The group’s purpose aligns with Zonta International’s mission of advocating for women, empowering members, and educating their school community on societal inequalities.

With these objectives in mind, the club decided to recognise local nurses and healthcare workers at East Care Medical Centre, not only for their help with day-to-day health and wellness issues, but for their unflagging support and care throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Whether it be our nurses, doctors, pharmacists or receptionists, we would not have made it through the pandemic without them,” said Z Club president and Howick College head student Leila Alsabak.

To demonstrate their appreciation, the group collected donations to make gift baskets full of goodies and discovered that appreciation for East Care staff extended far beyond Howick College.

Many small businesses such as The Meadowlands Cheesecake Factory, Unichem Royal Oak Pharmacy, Cinnamon Brown, The Natural Health Co, Hancocks Cafe, Howick Village Grocer and Michael’s Emporium Howick were keen to chip in and help.

The group presented the baskets to East Care representatives Tania Farrell and Annaliese Robson, who were delighted to accept them on behalf of their colleagues.

Handwritten notes from students expressing their gratitude were also included with the baskets.

“Thank you, Z Club. It was lovely to walk into the lunchroom and see all your notes. Very touching,” commented one East Care staff member.

“The most valuable lesson we have learnt from this initiative is that whilst a gesture like this is appreciated, our healthcare workers deserve the utmost respect and gratitude from our community at all times,” said Alsabak.

Z Club was also privileged to have representatives from Zonta East Auckland and newly appointed Zonta District Governor, Phillippa Jacobs-Lory, attend the presentation.