Mana College held it’s annual athletics day at the Titahi Bay Athletics Club in Kura Park. Four members of our “Youth Workers in Secondary Schools” (YWiSS) team helped with the running of the day by supporting staff with events such as high jump, long jump, time keeping or being a year group marshal.
All in all, it was a great day with some healthy competition and in-house rivalry, which featured a staff relay that included some of our team. Fair to say there were some seriously competitive teachers on the track!!!
To our new brothers and sisters from Syria. We look forward to receiving the many gifts, strengths and life experiences you bring to us – together we will all be so much better off – an alive, inclusive, diverse, generous, welcoming city. Absolutely positively Wellington.
Over the past weeks, many Challenge 2000 staff, volunteers and young leaders have been collecting items to prepare for the arrival of new whanau in our city. Thanks to those who gave money, lifted and shifted, colour matched, purchased and enjoyed preparing homes.
On Friday night, 25 young people gathered along with Challenge 2000 staff and volunteers for our first sports night of the year.
The gym was full of energy as we played games, got to know each other and stepped out of our comfort zones!
All the young people had an awesome time with the opportunity to share in food at the end. We are looking forward to working with these young people throughout the year.
If you live in the Wairarapa and are between Year 7 and Year 13, our next sports night will take place on Friday 26th February 2016 from 5pm-7pm at Chanel College gym. Contact Nicole on 021 655 697 for more information.
The Whanganui Awa, and more specifically Hiruharama/Jerusalem, has long been a source of retreat and inspiration for the Challenge 2000 Youth Ministry team. In January, a team of 18 took four days to gather together to reflect on Youth Ministry and plan for the year ahead. 8 College students, 5 young adult volunteers and staff reflected on what it means to be a youth ministry team for 2016.
Hiruharama, with its rich history of Catholic ministry, was a great venue to pause at the beginning of the year and reconnect with our vision and purpose and get to know each other better. The team took the time to revisit why youth ministry matters, how each of us can contribute to making a difference and what we individually can contribute to the lives of those around us.
It was also an opportunity to reconnect with the whanau up the river holding an activity day for many of the young people who live in Hiruharama and the surrounding communities. It is always a special time playing games, sharing laughs and checking in with the hopes for the year ahead.
The College students took real leadership of the day and leant lots about running activity days. Many friendships were formed and it was difficult to leave!
Challenge 2000 is very lucky to have a longstanding connection with the families living in the area and also at the school in Ranana. Heath Hutton supported a school trip to the Gold Coast last year, so it was great to be able to reminisce about all the fun had on that trip.
Just as Suzanne Aubert did so many years ago, the Challenge 2000 team travelled back to Wellington with a sense of mission and purpose for 2016. Dreams were shared and plans hatched!
If you know of any young people who are in Year 12 or 13 who would be keen to be involved in youth ministry, please get in touch with Nicole Simson on 04 477 0045.
This Christmas week our happy staff and volunteers have delivered 85 hampers to families we are involved with. Many, many thanks to all those generous people who sent money in response to our Christmas appeal for meat, veges and fruit. The response was outstanding.
A big thankyou also to KIERAN O’SULLIVAN and his wonderful team at Pak n Save Lower Hutt. Your service and generous discount was absolutely AWESOME!! You made our staff members cry!! Thank you!!
Many families were very surprised and humbled.
A family of 10 was overwhelmed by the gesture, the whole family came out to receive the Hampers which included gifts. Children were wide eyed with excitement, adults were so overwhelmed, and very thankful.
One Parent said: “Thank you for the aroha, my Whanau are so thankful”
A 9 yr old girl said: “is that really for us? I can’t wait for Christmas”
Another caregiver said:
“I can’t believe this, thank you for this so unexpected, but we so needed this”
Thanks also to Sacred Heart Primary School for their generous donations towards our Christmas Hampers.
Lots of happy smiley faces as Challenge 2000 rode through the streets of Johnsonville, spreading the Christmas cheer to one and all!! Merry Christmas everyone!!
During the Christmas holidays 4 Challenge 2000 staff members along with 4 amazing young men from different Colleges and youth organisations around Wellington accepted the challenge to hike the Tongariro Alpine track. The trip was done over 3 days. With 2 nights camping out under the stars in Kuratau, Taupo and 1 full day hiking through the Tongariro Crossing.
These young men admitted that they were both physically and mentally challenged through the hike (especially “the Devil’s Staircase) but also said that the view from the top was well worth the 8 hour/20km hike. John* commented that “it was a great way to start the year doing something that hard and smashing it”!!
After completing the Crossing, the sense of perseverance and accomplishment was very clear to see in each of these young men’s faces. A very big thank you to all those who have contributed with donations of money and gear towards this trip. With this support it was possible for these young men to have had such a life changing experience.
Challenge 2000 are back at Newlands Community Centre every Tuesday 3pm-5pm.
We had a few champion planes in our plane building competition today and we have a lot of exciting activities planned every Tuesday afternoon for the rest of 2016!!
If you and your friends are interested in checking it out – come along on a Tuesday after school!! It’s free!
Many of the families we work with really struggle to survive financially. The Christmas period is always a time of both happiness and intense pressure and stress for our families and young people. Challenge 2000 fortunately receives Christmas Hampers from the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Wellington City Mission which we deliver on 23rd/24th December.
While these hampers are full of Christmas goodies, they do not include meat, vegetables and fruit. With your help, we can add these to hampers. Please spread the Christmas message of love by helping us to help others. Please donate $12 for a frozen chicken, $20 meat pack, $50 for a small Christmas Ham or $80 for fresh fruit and vegetables for a family of five children.
So please if you can either post a cheque to Challenge 2000, P O Box 13059, Johnsonville or direct credit to Challenge 2000: ANZ 01-0519-0057660-00 reference Christmas Food.
All amounts are tax deductible as we are a registered charity. Thank you for helping us to make a difference. For further information, please call Trish or John on 04 477 6827.
