29 May 2019

Can you help fill the gap?

Over the last 10 years, we have watched Octacan steadily grow, and it has become a key event in winter calendars.

We aim to help ‘Fill the Gap’ this winter. It’s our eleventh year running Octacan and we have had over 120,000 cans and food items donated through the event over the decade. This is a credit to Otago’s spirit of generosity.

This year Octacan will be held on Thursday, 20 June 2019, in the Lower Octagon in central Dunedin. We chose this date to be close to the shortest day of the year, as a reminder of the real need that exists in the community.

During the colder months many Otago families and individuals are trying to pay their bills and find there’s suddenly a gap where food money should be. Some people find themselves in a gap between houses – trying to find affordable rent or a place to stay. Octacan is here to help fill that gap, and with your support we CAN help!

Getting involved is easy. The public are invited to bring cans and coins to the Lower Octagon on Octacan day. You can start to prepare now, by setting up a collection point in your workplace and then dropping them off as a group.

Members of the Family Works team will be in the Octagon in our winter woolies from 7.30am until mid-afternoon. We’re always excited to be meeting people and gathering all of the generous donations to restock our food bank for winter.

Let’s take over the Octagon with can-filled hearts once again, and together we will fill the hearts of Otago people who are facing hardship. If everyone contributes a little, together we can make a big difference

If you are unable to make it to Octacan and giving online is an easier option for you, please head to our Octacan page.

If you would like to be involved in Octacan as a volunteer, please get in touch with Hannah Day on Hannah.Day@psotago.org.nz.