Just 11-years-old and already a kindness veteran

by Ainsley Harris

With three birthday registries already under her belt, Johanna had no hesitation when her 11th birthday came around. She once again chose to celebrate her birthday waste-free and unnecessary gift free, creating a registry for Auckland City Mission. We had a chat with Johanna to see what inspires an 11 year old to give her birthdays for Good.

Johanna first heard about The Good Registry when she was 7-years-old, after her mum showed her a newspaper article about someone who had recently created a registry. She really liked the idea so they set one up for her 8th birthday.

“I chose Project Jonah for my first registry, because I really like the environment and animals. I really liked doing it, so I kept going from there,” says Johanna.

For her 9th birthday Johanna chose World Wide Fund for nature (WWF), and for her 10th birthday she chose the Jane Goodall Institute. Are we seeing a theme here?

“I really care about the environment..it’s hard to explain why I care about it so much.”

Johanna’s dad Hamish says she’s definitely an environmentalist, and is passionate about our planet.

“I make the kids lunches, and I get told off if there’s any plastic in her lunchbox. She has a worm farm, and also bikes to school instead of taking a car ride, which is really good too,” says Hamish.

Johanna’s friends bike to school with her, and most of them are vegetarian or flexitarian for environmental impact. So what did they think about giving to her birthday registries?

“My friends loved giving to them, especially this year. And everyone is more generous than you think too, it’s nice to see the donations and the messages, it’s a pretty good feeling.”

What inspires Johanna to give her birthdays for Good?

“My birthday is in January which is pretty close to Christmas, so I don’t really need anything or want plastic toys. I had already chosen lots of environmental charities, so this year I chose Auckland City Mission.

“I chose Auckland City Mission because I wanted to help people, and they help lots of homeless people. I wanted to do something different, especially after lockdown.”

Johanna said she enjoyed her birthday with friends and family, and lots of swimming at the beach. She is an incredibly humble 11 year old, and her compassion for others and the environment is just intuitive. It makes sense why she chooses to celebrate through The Good Registry!

In her spare time, Johanna enjoys rock climbing — a hobby she’s been doing for a few years now. She also loves being a Girl Guide — especially learning how to put up tents and cook on gas.

Johanna also loves baking, and her family loves her baking too. Her specialty is a persimmon tart which gets 5 stars from dad Hamish, and she also loves making gnocchi.

Thanks Johanna for having a chat with us, and we can’t wait to see your next registry!

About The Good Registry

The Good Registry is a website where you can give or ask to receive goodness instead of stuff.

Our Good Gift Cards are vouchers that recipients can exchange for donations to the charities they choose.

Our Good Registries are for people who want to encourage giving to their favourite charities, rather than receiving presents for their big life events.