1385 days ago

Stranger takes on 3000km bike tour of NZ to raise funds for North Shore girl

Caroline Williams Reporter from North Shore Times

Kia ora neighbours.

In 2020 I reported on Hauraki 5-year-old Lydia Golding, who was born with a condition called proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD), which left her with an unformed hip and shortened femur. www.stuff.co.nz...

It has been Lydia's dream to walk with both feet on the ground, and surgery in the US last year got her closer to this by extending her leg by 8cm.

Hamish and Lauren Golding had to remortgage their home to pay for their daughter's bone-lengthening surgery, which cost just over $500,000 including travel and accommodation. The family are still paying this off, while the next surgery in the US will cost a further $465,000 (approx).

The Golding family have fundraised around $110,000 themselves, but now Jared Small - a complete stranger - has taken on the cause and is doing the Tour Aotearoa 3000km bikepacking trip from Cape Reinga to Bluff to help Lydia get two feet on the ground.

Follow Small's progress here: givealittle.co.nz...

Click 'read more' for our most recent story about Lydia's surgery.
Photo: Supplied by Shore Photography

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More messages from your neighbours
12 minutes ago

πŸŽ„ Christmas 2025 Holiday Pay - What You Need to Know πŸŽ„

Stephanie from Sunnynook

πŸŽ„ Christmas 2025 Holiday Pay - What NZ Employers Need to Know πŸŽ„
With Christmas fast approaching, it’s important to make sure your team is paid correctly over the holiday period - especially with holiday legislation changes on the horizon.
πŸ‘‰ Good news: For Christmas 2025, the current Holidays Act rules still apply.

Here’s a simple breakdown πŸ‘‡
βœ… Employees with 12+ months service
β€’ Entitled to 4 weeks paid annual leave
β€’ Pay the higher of:
πŸ‘‰ Ordinary Weekly Pay or Average Weekly Earnings
πŸ“Œ Full-time example
β€’ 8 hrs/day Γ— 5 days = 40 hrs/week
β€’ $1,200 per week = $240 per leave day
πŸ“Œ Part-time example
β€’ 3 hrs/day Γ— 4 days = 12 hrs/week
β€’ $300 per week = $75 per leave day
βœ… Employees with less than 12 months service
β€’ Not yet entitled to annual leave
β€’ If your business closes down over Christmas, they must still be paid holiday pay for the closedown period (usually paid via payroll accruals or 8% of gross earnings under current law)
🎁 Christmas & New Year Public Holidays
β€’ Christmas Day (25 Dec)
β€’ Boxing Day (26 Dec)
β€’ New Year’s Day (1 Jan)
βœ”οΈ If the day is a normal working day, employees are paid for it
βœ”οΈ If they work on a public holiday:
➑️ Time and a half + an alternative paid day off
πŸ”” Important – Changes Coming
The Holidays Act will eventually be replaced by a new Employment Leave Act, moving to hours-based leave accrual and simplified calculations.
⚠️ These changes are not in force yet, so Christmas 2025 still follows current rules.
πŸ’¬ Need help checking your payroll or holiday calculations?
πŸ“§ Email: info@corefigures.co.nz
🌐 Website: corefigures.co.nz...
✨ Feel free to share this with other NZ business owners ✨

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6 days ago

Neighbourhood Challenge: Who Can Crack This One? ⛓️‍πŸ’₯❔

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

What has a head but no brain?

Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!

Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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13 hours ago

Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!

Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?

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Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
  • 78.2% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
    78.2% Complete
  • 21.8% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
    21.8% Complete
206 votes