Our Todd Employment Unit is funded by the Todd Foundation. The unit is made up of young people seeking employment who need support and guidance to move into the work force. We develop an individualised plan with each young person and coordinate counselling, mentoring, confidence building, health changes, up-skilling and work experience as needed. Our staff who facilitate this unit have a range of diverse skills and experiences to ensure the holistic needs of the young people are addressed.

We have many young people come to us who are seeking employment but need help to get them going in the right direction, sometimes they have a few ideas but aren’t sure which direction to take and other times they need support to explore the opportunities to see what appeals to them. Sometimes literacy and numeracy barriers are identified so we take steps to ensure these needs are met, this will look different depending on the individual.

We currently have ten young people in the unit each undertaking their individualised plans. Take James* for example, he is tossing up whether to pursue a career as a musician or a builder. We developed a plan for James so he is able to gain experience in both these industries. Throughout the process we also provide one on one mentoring and support to enable James to make a decision about what pathway he wants to take. Another example is Susan*, she came to us seeking employment but unsure where to start. One on one mentoring helped Susan explore what was important to her and what she was interested in. After a couple of sessions Susan realised a career in the NZDF was something she wanted to pursue. To support this decision, we work closely with Susan to develop a plan to ensure she is ready in every way possible to achieve this goal. The plan includes; supporting Susan to obtain her full drivers licence – including driving lessons and practice with a timeline to sitting her full licence, developing a fitness and well-being plan – including eating, exercise and rest. We are also working with another young man Jon* who just missed out on University entrance this year. We are working one on one with him so hopefully with additional academic support he will achieve the level required and attend University in the second semester.

A recent project was undertaken with Parry Builders. Our young people worked alongside an experienced builder to complete jobs in the wider Wellington region. We were pleased to receive such great feedback “The boys have been a pleasure to work with. Hardworking, polite and willing to learn. Having extra sets of hands through the fencing installation process has made my life so much easier and I would not hesitate to get them on board to work with me again. Thanks so much Challenge 2000 for providing some real champions to help me out” – Kelvyn Parry, Director of Parry Homes. Check out the photos below, great work by our young people!

We are fortunate enough to have significant partnership relationships with a diverse number of employers/businesses who are willing to take on our young people and provide work experience and part or full-time employment. These connections allow our young people to gain relevant work stills and to try out jobs in an adult way – an essential part of the transition to employment and adulthood.

A huge thanks to the Todd Foundation for supporting us to help our young people to gain the necessary skills, attitude and experience to build their aspirations and obtain fulfilling employment.

*Not their real names

 

 

The school holidays are just around the corner and here at Challenge 2000 we have some fantastic days planned all around the Wellington region! Spaces are filling up fast so don’t waste anymore time! Get in touch with us today! Call Megan Ratuki on

04 477 6827.

 

December 18 – Games and Beach Day, Island Bay ages 13-17

December 19 – Bike Riding, Kilbirnie ages 13-17

December 20 – Baking and Making – Johnsonville all ages

December 21 – The Amazing Race, Linden ages 5-12

December 22 – Whanau Day, Newlands ages 5-12

And in the New Year… 

January 9 – Big Field Sports and Frisbee Golf, Petone ages 12-18

January 10 – Mini Olympics, Location TBC ages 5-13

January 18 – Weka Walk and Wonder Wander, Porirua ages 13-16

January 19 – WOW for kids and Disco, Newlands ages 5-12

January 25 – Wahine Toa, Johnsonville ages 13-16 AND

Men to Men, Porirua ages 14-17 

 

 

All the amazing Challenge 2000 animals gathered on Saturday 2nd December to bask in the sun at the Johnsonville Christmas Parade.. There were bears, tigers, lions, zebras, leopards, cows, frogs and if you look close enough you might be able to spot some magical unicorns and pigs!

The boat sailed through the main streets of Johnsonville with a light tail wind. A great time was had by all and it was great to see everyone come out to support the Challenge 2000 Ark.

A big thanks to everyone who boarded the ark and watched from a far, a special shout out to the wonderful builders who created the sturdy Challenge 2000 Ark in less than 7 days!

Here is what Keely had to say about her trip to Passchendaele…

It has been over a month since I returned and I’ve tried writing this article many times.

Whenever I sat down, feelings and memories flooded over me and I stopped because it was difficult to express what I had experienced, what I had seen and felt.

It was also difficult to say how grateful I am for Challenge 2000 and the New Zealand Defence Force for giving me this wonderful opportunity and supporting me on this journey.

On this journey I met many people from all three services, locals from the countries I visited and youth from all over NZ. They all will forever be a special part of my life. I had an incredible transit over and back stopping in Cairns Australia, Malaysia, Greece, Dubai. On our arrival in Belgium we hit the ground running and didn’t stop. Our days were full, with commemorations, cemetery visits, practices and performances of waiata and two special NZDF haka. At times it seemed a dream. It was hard to process and reflect on.

Then I was very humbled when asked to speak at the main ceremony on the 12th of October at Tyne Cot Cemetery. A cemetery where over 500 New Zealand soldiers lay. I accepted this invitation with pride and also fear.

I remember sitting in the front row alongside the VIPS including Willie Apiata, Prince William and Princess Astrid of Belgium. The most VIP all of us Youth Ambassadors had ever been with. That was almost overwhelming.

Then while I was waiting for my name to be called to speak, I thought through all my reasons for being here and who I was representing. I stood for the Leonard Hart the stretcher bearer whose diary entry I read. I stood for his family back home who knew of his suffering and work. I stood for all the soldiers who lay buried in the soil of Leper, a long way from home. I stood for my family, some of who had served here and those back at home. I stood for the YDU team and all the trainees. I stood for the youth of New Zealand AND I stood for Challenge 2000 and all the young people that myself and my colleagues stand beside and journey with in their tough lives.

When stepping on the stage and looking out beyond the crowds to the thousands of soldiers that lay there, far from Aotearoa New Zealand, my nerves settled and I felt a deep peace. On that day the crowd did not bother me, I spoke to remember those soldiers and acknowledge their hardship, sacrifice and lives.

The speech was for them and I am proud of how I spoke.

I realised that my past two years at Challenge 2000 has helped me with self confidence and a belief in my capabilities. I knew that my time on the LSV course had given me an inner strength and an appreciation of the NZDF and its values.

I looked back to myself, the Year 13 student in Central Hawke’s Bay and knew that she would not have been able to stand up and speak. I realised what saying yes to opportunities that pushed me outside my comfort zone, a sense of pride and the power of example can do.

I would not say I’ve conquered my fear of public speaking but my journey as a Youth Ambassador taught me a lot about how I am in control of those nerves and how a greater cause can lead us to put our fears aside.

My fears seemed so small as I sat beside the graves of our soldiers who died on the Western Front.

This is an experience – actually more than an experience that will remain with me forever. I still can’t express what I feel.

Earlier this month a team from Challenge 2000 arrived at St Francis De Sales in Island Bay where we were greeted by 80 enthusiastic year 6 and 7’s ready and willing to participate in their leadership retreat.

Each year the school sets aside a day for the young people to learn about what it means to be a leader and how they can contribute to leading the school the following year. The theme this year was “Lets lead as one”.

We started the day with introductions, getting to know each other and playing ice breakers outside.

Our first session we gave each group a famous leader, they had to create a drama about this person which included everyone. Each group worked hard and put on am entertaining drama while teaching us something we might not have known about them.

After morning tea, we split into groups and participated in activity based learning (ABL) where the year 7’s competed in an egg drop competition and the year 6’s completed in a game called “mouse traps”. Lots of laughs were had and everyone had a chance to step up and lead.

The afternoon was spent reflecting on what they can bring to the group and creating a mural for the class to hang up next year. To close our day each student participated in our closing prayer, saying one thing they are going to bring to the group next year. A few examples were respect, courage, compassion.

We all had an awesome day and enjoyed our time at St Francis. Thanks for having us, we look forward to hearing how your leadership is developing throughout next year!