Charity powerhouse Dame Julie Chapman is one of those people who sees a need, then does something about it. From kids living with terrible deprivation, to pets needing shelter from their owners’ abusive partners, Julie is the founder of KidsCan and Pet Refuge. Inspiring staff and countless volunteers, somehow Julie stays upbeat in an imperfect world – although if she had her way, she would prefer none of her work was necessary.
Growing up, I was a tomboy who mainly wore gumboots and jeans, so when we moved from [Auckland’s] Glenfield to Oratia when I was nine, that was perfect for me.
I loved animals and living semi-rural out west. I’d rescue anything that needed saving.
My parents were very involved in our local community.
Dad volunteered for DOC [Department of Conservation] in his spare time, and Mum did lots with the Country Women’s Institute and our church. She was always holding bake sales for various causes, which obviously rubbed off on me, although I definitely don’t bake!
At school, I thought about being a vet, but I wasn’t academic enough.
I also thought about the police force, but my first job was customer service with a stationery company. Then I did a marketing course at what used to be called AIT and moved to a marketing role, which I loved. There was no social media back then. The brand mailed out catalogues, and customers could win prizes by spending a certain amount on Twink.
After three years, I moved to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter’s database team.
But I was more creative than data-focused and once I had my foot in the door, I applied to be the marketing manager for ChildFlight, the fixed-wing air ambulance that took kids to Starship Hospital. It was there I became passionate about fundraising because it’s the best feeling to raise money for something you truly believe in. My parents weren’t wealthy, but I never worried about my next meal or the clothes on my back, so when I moved to Victim Support in 2004 and I heard about kids going to school without the basics, that felt so unfair. Maybe they didn’t have shoes or enough food.
Sometimes they didn’t make it to school at all, which is how KidsCan started. I began with a very unsophisticated survey of 80 low-decile schools to find out how widespread material hardship was. The results were shocking – thousands of kids lacked the things most of us take for granted. And how can a child learn or achieve if they don’t have the basics?
I never could’ve predicted how massive the need would become and around 157,000 New Zealand children live in material hardship today.
We started with food in 40 schools, then we added shoes, jackets and health items. We now provide children with the essentials in more than 1500 schools and early childhood centres, but these numbers aren’t something to celebrate.
There’s a real myth around families doing it tough.
A stigma that parents are down at the pub or spending money on cigarettes, which is a horrible narrative that just isn’t true. In all my years, I’ve never met a parent who didn’t want the best for their child, but with the cost of everything going up, families who were previously just getting by now need support.
Teachers tell us things that break my heart.
Stories about kids picking up empty food packets on the way to school to pretend they’ve had something to eat because they’re ashamed they don’t have what they need. Or kids whose shoes are held together with Sellotape. Life is so hard for lower-income families.
As an only child, I inherited the money from the sale of my parents’ house at the same time I was imagining doing something for animals.
Dad was really into the idea, although I didn’t want to replicate the good work done by other animal organisations. Then a colleague spoke to someone from Women’s Refuge about animals affected by family violence. How women stay in unsafe situations because abusers use pets as coercive control. That was my Pet Refuge light-bulb moment.
Since our first shelter opened in 2021, we’ve provided more than 70,000 nights of safety for cats, dogs, horses, cows, goats, birds, lizards and goldfish.
We’ve provided shelter and care for any pet you can think of. We keep the shelter location secret to prevent abusers from finding us – some of the harm we see is way too graphic for readers.
At home, we’ve got two dogs.
So far, so normal, and 12 cats. There are six goats, including Selena Goatmez and Vincent van Goat. Eighteen chickens and a pet turkey called Phez because we thought it was a pheasant. Sparrolyn Monroe is a tame sparrow our neighbour’s daughter found fallen from its nest. She is one sassy bird who shares a room with Biggy Smuggler the budgie because once you’ve hand-raised a bird, you can’t release it. We also saved an 800kg steer called Humphrey Moo-gart from the meatworks. We love punny names.
I didn’t get married the first time round till I was in my thirties as I was more focused on career than marriage and family.
It didn’t last, though, and when I’d been separated for a year, when Facebook was new, I got a message out of the blue from an old boyfriend. Cain and I had dated for a few months when I was 17, and he was 18. At first, I couldn’t remember who he was, but we had pizza and a few wines one Saturday, and we’ve been together ever since. Cain is the most amazing support and I couldn’t do life without him. I wouldn’t want to either. We’ll have been married for 14 years next anniversary and my favourite thing is chilling out at home with Cain and our animals.
When you’re made a Dame, they start by writing to tell you your name has been put forward for an honour and will you accept it.
When my letter came, I was in a KidsCan meeting. I was scrolling through my emails when this message popped up. They also said I had to keep it secret. So I read this letter sitting in a room full of colleagues, then I closed the email and continued with the meeting, feeling bewildered and astounded.
If Cain had been made a Sir, I’d be called Lady, but it’s not the same for male partners, so our friends got him a T-shirt with Lady Chapman embroidered on the front because Cain deserves recognition for everything he does behind the scenes for the two charities.
I wish my parents had been around for the investiture ceremony as it is a huge honour and I am also conscious that it was for something that shouldn’t need to be done – helping to feed and clothe children.
I tend to forget about it, then someone will call me Dame Julie and I get a bit of a shock.
And if someone asks what to call me, I just say, ‘Call me Julie,’ but it’s nice to be recognised for doing something good. Lots of people can have ideas, but being able to bring others along with you, that’s something I really enjoy – working with companies and community organisations to make a real difference. But I couldn’t do it by myself, and I’m so lucky to have the most amazing people around me. I love going to work so much that I get FOMO [fear of missing out] if I get sick or can’t be there. There is such a good vibe in our office because everyone is there for the right reason – to do something good.
Once I discovered my passion for fundraising, I threw myself full force into charity work.
Since I started KidsCan more than 20 years ago, helping it grow has been a huge part of my life and my identity. My work is stressful at times. I hear awful things, but I love what I do because we help raise people up.
Among the significant people in my life, Glenda Hughes is one of the best.
She joined the KidsCan board in 2009 and is also chairperson of Pet Refuge. I might have told her that if she didn’t come on as chair, I’d drop a whole lot of animals at her house in Wellington! Glenda hates the term mentor, but I use that term. Although she’s more than a mentor – she’s been like a second mum to me, especially when my mum and dad passed away, and I want to acknowledge Glenda as a huge part of the success of KidsCan and Pet Refuge.”
To find out how you can support KidsCan and Pet Refuge, go to kidscan.org.nz or petrefuge.org.nz
