In September, the centre became the first in the country to offer "care packages" — mainly food — to the seamen, Otago Seafarers’ Charitable Trust managing trustee Shirley Farquhar said yesterday.
The centre had since provided more than 50 care parcels, one per ship and each valued about $80, for crew members, who could not leave their ships at Port Otago.
This month the centre also started undertaking personal shopping for crew members, handling more than 40 email orders.
The centre did the shopping and crew paid for items.
"They really do appreciate it.
"It’s worked very well," she said of the arrangement.
The gifts, shopping and other help showed New Zealand was a caring society, and centre volunteers provided key support.
Mrs Farquhar (86) had been watching ships standing off the coast when she thought of the care package idea.
Seafarers’ centres elsewhere in the country had since followed suit, she said.
The Otago packages included chocolate, potato chips and coffee sachets, and had sparked plenty of thanks, via email, telephone and social media.
Each package provided welcome extra treats for the 18-20 crew members aboard each ship docked in Otago Harbour.
Mrs Farquhar has contributed to Otago centre leadership for more than 50 years and is a former long-serving national secretary of the International Sailors Society New Zealand.
Buying phone SIM cards, some small treats for crew, and small presents for their families helped sailors, some of whom had been away from their families for 18 months, because of Covid-19.
Given a lack of visiting crew, the centre had been locked since March, but was trying new things to help, she said.
