On Saturday 16th November we will have a team of car washers in the Remax car park, 18 Moorefield Road (by our admin building), with buckets, sponges, cleaning supplies and big smiles ready to clean cars! If you, your family or friends have a car please come on down and support us, it’s only $5 per car!!
If you have any questions re this event, please contact Bridget Masoe on 477 0045.
During our confirmation classes in term 2 a big focus was put on service and the practical outreach of being a church. Now in their holidays 13 young people turned up for a Service Day in which we had fun while doing some hard work. We moved a huge pile of sawdust for the local school grounds man, and cleaned windows for the local church. Half of us also went to a local hospice and learned a bit of what they do and then spent time cleaning, sweeping and dusting. All were grateful for the help.
Well done to those who turned up and put the effort in!
Working and having fun!
Hard at work
Tired after a hard day of work!
On the 6th of September we had our annual Street day appeal. All of our staff, gap students, family members and many volunteers went out onto the streets to collect and busk to raise money to fund the programmes that are run throughout the year. Everyone was very excited, and looked forward to collecting as well the opportunity to promote Challenge, the work that we do, who we are, and talking about some of the many programmes that we offer. Without the help and support of the Wellington public we wouldn’t have the flexibility that we have to be able to create different programmes that meet the needs of the people who we work with. This was a day enjoyed by all, and we want to say THANK YOU to all our collectors and the wonderful people of Wellington who donated.
Our first school holiday programme was a hit! We were fortunate to have a fabulous sunny day and we took advantage of it at St Brigid’s school grounds. We started off the day at Challenge 2000 Youth and Family Centre – there were 35 young people who came along to participate and have fun! We had the push play trailer from Sport Wellington, and had set up three different games – Touch rugby, Netball and Uni Hockey.
Split into small groups to help people get to know one another
Lined up in order of age!
By lunch time we had all worked up a massive appetite and lucky for us our amazing Trish had worked tirelessly to create 120 delicious ham buns!! We had a splendid lunch break, had our fill, and some people relaxed, ready for the afternoon, while other got into skipping, even double dutch, some played basketball, and others played a game of touch.
D E L I C I O U S !
After lunch, we broke up into different groups, some played volleyball, badminton, skipping, swing ball and Lape! The push play trailer had so many games for us to choose from and we did our best to play as many as we could! Throughout the day we kept putting on the sun screen to keep us safe as we played til our hearts were content. Everyone had such a fabulous time and and were all very tired at the end of the day.
Thank you to Sport Wellington for the Push Play trailer, St Brigid’s for letting us use their school grounds, the young people for giving everything a go, staff and volunteers for all their support and to Trish for our yummy rolls! We are all looking forward to our Friday Fun Day! Keep an eye out to see what else we get up to at our Holiday Programmes!
Challenge 2000 congratulates the Magpies on their Shield win. Challenge 2000 Hawkes Bay were proud to meet you at the airport. Our young people will be there to support you at your games. If you ever need a group of energetic, passionate youth leaders, just contact us and we’ll be there. Go the Bay!
Manisha with Magpie Ged Robinson
Recently JustSpeak had a camp at Pipitea Marae in Wellington. JustSpeak is a non-partisan network of young people speaking to, and speaking up for a new generation of thinkers who want change in our criminal justice system. One of Challenge 2000’s staff members, Heath Hutton, helps lead this initiative. Many Challenge 2000 staff have been involved in the various events and forums that JustSpeak have held since its beginning in 2011.
JustSpeak Camp 2013 was a unique opportunity for 150 young people to come together to be a part of a new generation of thinkers who want to improve Aotearoa’s criminal justice system. The weekend was envisioned to engage our attendees with justice issues and solutions, to hear from inspiring speakers, develop new skills and to build a JustSpeak community that extended across the whole country.
On the Sunday of the camp, Le Bernadette spoke to attendees about her experiences working with young people and their families. She reflected on her work and what the essence of Challenge 2000 is all about. She also shared her personal journey to becoming a qualified social worker, and explained how important the opportunities that she was given by Challenge 2000 were in shaping her journey so far. She gave great insight and deeply moved many of the audience retelling stories and sharing the struggles that she sees each day.
To find more out about JustSpeak you can visit their website at www.justspeak.org.nz
Last holidays we provided two holiday programmes. One was Wellington based and one Wairarapa based. In Wellington 10 young people took part in a 5 day long Leadership and Development Camp. The group headed up to Makahika Outdoor Pursuits Centre where they were challenged from the get-go. From trembling on the high ropes, scaling a natural rock climbing wall and coasting through the bush on a flying fox, the young people were tested in various ways.
There were team building exercises where the young people needed to use a range of problem solving skills and work as a team. Throughout the camp, each young person was given the opportunity to step into a leadership role and put some of their new found skills to practice. It was amazing to see they all shone as leaders, supported fellow leaders and surprised themselves as they took the opportunities presented to them, faced and overcame some of their biggest fears over the length of the camp.
The young people also took part in reflecting on personality types, their own leadership styles and were able to identify both strengths and areas of improvement in their interactions. As part of their reflection time, the young people were allowed space to try and better understand themselves and how they interact and work with others.
On the way home to Wellington, with just enough energy, the team stopped off to have few fun games of Laser Strike before returning home exhausted, but ready to take on new leadership roles in their communities.
In Carterton we facilitated a programme based at St Mary’s Carterton – the days went quickly with games, cooking, competitions, paiting, movies and even a pool even in the warm Wairarapa!
Carterton Holiday Programme
These holiday programmes are an awesome opportunity for children and young people to have fun and to learn for youth volunteers to gain leadership skills and understand the principles and realities of service and for older volunteers to support, drive and teach skills they have learnt over a life time. Parents also enjoy the break and knowing that their children are safe, happy and being challenged.
We were humbled to find out that we are finalists in the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards! Thanks for the nomination, and thank you to all those who make it possible for us to do what we do!
We have had awesome school holiday programmes where we have played games and sports, or done activities or had a drivers licence programme. Our recent holiday programmes saw 44 participants over two days meet at St Joseph’s in Mt Victoria in the morning, where we had games and lunch before going to ASB Stadium to play sports. Here’s what two of the participants had to share:
“The holiday programme was really good, better than I actually thought it would be. We first sat down and introduced ourselves and played some games to start getting to know each other. We then stopped and shared lunch together which really helped get to know other people more.” Y.A
“On our way to ASB stadium, we got to socialise more and it was fun playing games in the car, like Spotto. As soon as we started playing sports, you could see that everyone was happy and having fun. Over the two days we got to play Ki‑o‑rahi, indoor soccer, basketball, dodge ball and volleyball. At the end of the day it was all very fun and we all got on really well. We made heaps of new friends and it was good getting out of the house and doing something different. Overall, it was a great experience and we all enjoyed it. I will definitely be doing it again!” L.A
The main feedback we got from the young people was that they wanted to have activities in both weeks of the holidays, SO, currently we are in the process of planning our next holiday programmes, so keep you eye out for more information as we secure dates and confirm details! We would love to have more young people come along, they are great days of getting to meet new people and having lots of fun!
Thanks to all the wonderful supporters that turned out for our annual quiz evening on Sunday 9th June. The Johnsonville Rugby Club room was packed with 19 teams competing for a wide variety of spot prizes, raffles and quiz prizes donated by a long list of generous businesses and individuals.
Our wonderful MC Alex Ness, kept the teams entertained and put general knowledge to the test. The atmosphere was one of fun, laughter and plenty of competition! The Einsteins won this year’s quiz, some saying that having dressed up like Einstein helped connect to his genius! Well done everyone on a great effort and brilliant night – thank you!
The event raised around $5,000… a new record for a Challenge quiz night! The proceeds of the quiz will be used to fund programmes that help young people from every walk of life discover their potential.
Again, many thanks to those that came out in the cold to support us; those that donated because they couldn’t get there on the night; the families and friends who helped and donated prizes; and the businesses who continue to support us – we have listed them below.
Very special thanks go to the Johnsonville Rugby Club for the use of their venue.
Our Special Sponsors – thank you
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ANZ |
Auto Repairs |
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Auto Stop |
Bay Plaza Hotel |
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Bella Bloom |
Burger Fuel |
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Burrowes & Co |
City Fitness |
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Civic Video |
Guardian Funeral Home |
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Johnsonville Physio |
Life Pharmacy |
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LifeSense |
McDonalds |
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Motor Doctors |
Muffin Break |
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Sarak Hairstylists |
Skin, Body & Soul |
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Stevens |
Unichem |
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Wendys |
Whitcoulls |
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Whittakers |
West Plaza Hotel |
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Z Energy |
Challenge 2000 Whanau & Friends
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