ASB Good As Gold: Denise and George Green

Imagine having a whole wall covered with photos of your children, without being the biological parents to any of them. Nelson-based Denise and George Green have fostered children for more than 20 years, and their hearts burst with pride when they look at their family wall of photos. While unable to have children of their own, they instead opened their house to the community by providing a safe and loving home to many children - sometimes permanently, sometimes for just a few days.

Upon arrival, a picture of each child is immediately added to the photo wall helping give them a feeling of belonging to the family. And it is the little things like this that do not go unnoticed by the children. Dillon, one of the Green’s permanent foster children, nominated Denise and George for ASB Good As Gold: “The amount of love they have for all us kids and how hard they work is astonishing. “

George at times works 7 days per week at the local sawmill to earn enough to support the large family. It is not unusual for him to return home from work to find another baby or child at the dinner table as Denise has responded to a desperate call for foster family help.

The Greens are a lovely caring couple with huge hearts that work tirelessly and selflessly. We surprised them with a big dinner out for the whole family, plus $10,000 which they are planning to spend on some house renovations.

Thank you to Denise and George for all you do in the Nelson community and for providing a home full of love to children who needed one.