BUS OVERFLOWING WITH MASSIVE RESPONSE TO FILL THE BLUES BUS!
The Blues are overwhelmed with the response to the ‘Fill The Blues Bus Event Day with MoreFM’ held at Blues HQ today, with over 50,000 (and still counting) non-perishable food items donated by schools, rugby clubs, businesses and fans from around the Blues region.
The 50,000 plus food count smashed the club’s initial target of 30,000 items and will go a long way to helping battle food insecurity for families this Christmas.
Blues CEO Andrew Hore said he was proud of the way the Blues club and community have pulled together.
“This is exactly what this club is all about - giving back to our community,” said Hore.
“I want to say a massive thanks to everyone in the Blues region who contributed, it’s been a phenomenal response and we’re delighted that we could help facilitate it,” said Hore.
Blues players and flat mates Zarn Sullivan and Harry Plummer were equally proud of the community response.
“We want to thank everyone for showing up and we’re grateful for the opportunity to give back to our community and those in need. Thank you to everyone for helping us do that - what an effort,” said Sullivan.
Plummer had a special thank you for Blues fans.
“Thanks for coming down to Blues HQ today. The sun was shining, we had dunk tanks, mini golf, touch rugby and heaps going on. So many kids came through and had a blast. A massive thanks to the Blues whānau, you’ve helped a lot of people and a lot of families today - bring on 2025!” Plummer said.
Previously, ‘Fill The Blues Bus’ was a toy collection drive but this year instead of toys, the club set a lofty goal of collecting 30,000 non-perishable food items to help battle food insecurity for families this Christmas.
The ‘Fill The Blues Bus Event Day’ held today, gave fans a chance to attend an open pre-season training session and connect with players through various activities and activations - including playing against them in touch rugby and on PlayStation!
Following today, three charities will assist in the distribution of the collected food - The Village Community Trust (West Auckland), South Seas (South Auckland) & Whakaora Kai (Northland).
The Northland food collection will take place on December 12, coinciding with a Blues training camp and open training session held in Whangārei.
The Blues also wanted to thank all their partners and sponsors who contributed to today’s successful Fill The Blues Bus with MoreFM campaign.
Notably:
MoreFM for being the principle sponsor and activating today. Solar Hub who helped on the BBQ and collected at their offices as well as Barfoot & Thompson’s 45 stores who collected food throughout the month.
Also, the day wouldn’t have been possible without Ritchies who provided the Blues bus, South Seas Healthcare for hosting games today, Hello Fresh for donating several pallets of food, Musashi and Lockton for their contributions today and AVS for their significant monetary contribution.
