Warm Hearts

Sisters Paulette and Sonya Cotter couldn’t sit pretty while thousands of Kiwi kids go cold – so they got busy doing something to help

- Monique McKenzie

Learning just how many Kiwi kids are living in poverty left Paulette Cotter horrified. About 254,000 children are affected in this country, and she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing to help them. With her background in strategy work, can-do attitude and natural ability to problem solve on her side, she went knocking on the doors of principals’ offices at low-decile primary schools in Auckland. What she discovered next shocked her yet again.

It was a heartbreakingly simple need. “They talked about this real hidden issue of absenteeism in winter because kids are getting sick,” says Paulette (pictured above left). “They’re coming to school in winter in bare feet, shorts and T-shirts.”

Determined to help keep kids in school, she teamed up with her sister Sonya (above right), who has a background in design and fashion. Unable to solve the bigger problem of inadequately heated homes, they looked to something more achievable. Hoodies seemed like a logical choice to help keep children warm, avoid health issues and encourage attendance, so they created a buy-one-give-one model called Double Happy. For every hoodie sold, one is given to a child in need.

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