The Auckland Women's Centre Incorporated
Support towards the vital role of the Auckland Women's Centre Women's Support Co ordinator
Support towards the Women's Support Co ordinator expenses -
1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025
- women are connected to to other women and the community
- The safety of women and children is increased
- Women are supported to recognise abusive behaviours
- Women are supported to get the help they need, with information, support, advice and referral.
- Women learn new skills that help them make positive changes in their lives.
- Women's need for improved psychological wellbeing is met.
New Horizons for Women: Hine Kahukura
To support our annual education awards.
The grant was spent on one education award at NZQA level 7 worth $3,000. An additional $1,500 contributed to 50% of a second education award at NZQA level 7. Ther remaining $500 was used as an administration fee to support the costs associated with operating our award cycle.
This grant contributed to supporting two women in their studies in 2025. The administration fee component of the grant helped New Horizons for Women to deliver another successful award cycle. Overall, we were able to distribute 45 awards totalling $142,990 in value.
Wellington Riding for the Disabled
Funding towards Office Manager salary as part of our ride therapy programmes
Office Manager Salary
While volunteers remain the lifeblood of our organisation, paid professionals enable us to ensure high quality programmes and provide a solid base on which to develop and grow. Our Office Managers role includes management of all enquiries, volunteer police checks, rider medical consents, training records, member and new supporter communications, newsletter compilation, and certification/operational requirements. She also does all our volunteer interviewing and ensures all records are kept up to date and relevant.
The House of Grace Trust Inc
Provide vital food support for the young pregnant women in our care.
Grant was spent on food for the home which houses pregnant teens, yonug mums and their babies.
We are incredibly grateful to the John Ilott Charitable Trust for the generous grant, which has provided vital food support for the young pregnant women and mums in our care. Your kindness ensures that these mums-to-be can focus on their wellbeing and preparing for their babies, knowing that their nutritional needs are met. Thank you for making a meaningful difference in their lives and supporting our mission to empower and uplift them during this significant time.
Big Buddy Mentoring Trust
To support the matching of good volunteer men with boys without a father figure in their lives. Our Big and Little Buddies share enriching experiences, from basketball games to outdoor adventures, fostering growth and happiness.
Psychological testing of the volunteer Big Buddies prior to being matched with the Little Buddies.
The primary beneficiaries of our program are the Little Buddies, who have shown remarkable growth in confidence, self-awareness and resilience. However, the Big Buddies too have shared stories of rediscovery and fulfilment, indicating the mutually beneficial nature of these pairings. Mothers and caregivers have expressed immense gratitude for the visible positive changes in their sons.
Manawatū Rural Support Service
To contribute to the operating expenses for Manawatū Rural Support Service Inc.
We spent the money on wages for our two Rural Community Workers.
Manawatū Rural Support Service Inc provides free, confidential, home based information, support, advocacy and referral services for rural individuals, families and communities within the Manawatū region. Your generous donation enabled us to continue our work to achieve the following outcomes:-
Whanau - social wellbeing - we are actively engaged - we work together to make our whanau and communities better
mainly music New Zealand Trust
Supported Groups mainly play group in collaboration with Greenstone Doors Charitable Trust in Upper Hutt. Designed for families and their preschool tamariki who are sensory avoiders, this play group adapts the mainstream mainly play curriculum by using softer lighting, floor mats, limited resources to reduce sensory overload, and tools like weighted packs and earmuffs. It runs once a week during school terms, led by a trained facilitator.
The grant was spent on remuneration for the Session Facilitator, including reimbursement of travel expenses.
Group Size and Structure
The group is intentionally kept small to prevent sensory overwhelm for children who are sensitive to their environment. The children have enjoyed using resources such as drawing materials, play dough, stickers, kinetic sand, music, songs, and books, which many of the children have not had the chance to explore at home.
Child Progress and Engagement
• A child who is deaf and wears hearing aids has shown noticeable improvements in confidence and communication. She has become more talkative, and Jess, the Session Facilitator, is able to encourage her.
• Another child who was initially nervous about other children and reluctant to engage was given a separate table to sit with their mum. Over time, the child has started making eye contact with Jess, a significant step in social engagement. Now, the child joins activities next to Jess and the other children.
Skill Development and Learning
Children's confidence is growing as they learn to use the resources at their own pace, with Jess tailoring activities to ensure each child feels successful. Repetition is helping improve vocabulary, and by the third week of each module, the children are joining in more actively. Skills such as counting, recognizing colours, and naming feelings have all shown improvement.
Parental Involvement and Support
Jess has formed connections with the parents, and some parents have developed friendships within the group. In one case, Jess helped a mother draft a message to her landlord when facing housing difficulties, and the group later celebrated together when the mother secured a new home.
Conclusion
The Supported Play Group is providing a nurturing and adaptive environment, allowing each child to thrive and build confidence. The progress seen in both children and parents highlights the value of this group in supporting families and fostering social and developmental growth
Women of Worth Charitable Co. Ltd
Development of Resources & Training for WOW's Keys of Change
The grant covered a significant contribution towards the wages for the Development of the 5 Keys of Change Workshops, Training Programme for Facilitators Training.
The grant contributed to supporting WOW to have funding for development time which included the 5 Workshops, PowerPoints, Graphics, Facilitators Training Manual. WOW covered additional development time, and delivery of workshops. Furthermore, this development is enabling WOW to take the Keys of Change content further into a full Kit that will be available for a wide range of social services, schools, parents etc in 2025. WOW is underway looking for funding for this. Our thanks to the John Ilott Charitable Trust (and Rotary) for your generous support to enable this project, and for us to build on it further.
Adventure Specialties Trust
Staff training for three of our Outdoor Instructors, Rock 1 NZOIA qualification
Thank you very much for your support of our work. We spent your grant on three Rock 1 courses, a New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association (NZOIA) qualification for three of our Outdoor Instructors.
Holders of this qualification are able to:
• Plan and prepare top rope climbing and abseiling experiences
• Lead and manage groups top rope climbing and abseiling
• Apply effective safety management
• Instruct the rock climbing skills required for positive, educational and safe experiences
• Prepare and deliver teaching sessions
• Role model and promote accepted environmental practices
• Provide interpretive information about sites visited
Two of our three staff members passed, gained their qualification and have been utilising these skills with our groups throughout 2024 thank you. Unfortunately, our third member of staff had suffered a bad shoulder injury and required surgery. Therefore his course needed to be put on hold, but he is looking forward to attending his postponed course in January 2025.
Here at Adventure Specialties Trust we seek to transform the lives of young people, whānau and the wider community across Auckland and Christchurch, by utilising adventurous activities in nature to bring about positive change and wellbeing. Our organisation runs youth development programmes, leadership camps, strengthening families’ programmes, camps for people with disabilities, youth offender programmes, specialist programmes for unemployed or those with a history of sexual violence, school programmes, and technical outdoor tuition.
We take care to employ, develop and retain full time staff that can facilitate our programmes to the highest level. We ensure our staff receive youth work training, inclusive-practice training, activity-specific training and cultural-competency training as needed. Your support of our staff training with this grant for three Rock 1 courses, helps us to ensure we can deliver best practice approaches to our services. This is necessary as our programmes most often combine practices of technical outdoor adventure programming with social development facilitation for participants with social and/or physical needs.
Mapura Studios division of Panacea Arts Charitable Trust
A contribution to the costs of running a weekly art class, ‘Living a creative life’ for one term 2023. This programme focuses on visual art - particularly painting and drawing - with exploration and imagination encouraged – the majority of participants having completed an intense programme of art therapy with us, so most people in the group live with stroke affect. This can mean physical disability, neurological affects such as memory loss or confusion, aphasia (non-verbal or slow speech) depression/anxiety. Independence is supported, participants work on their own projects choosing the materials and content. Tutors provide ongoing input regarding methodologies, techniques, media and guidance re subject matter so artists are supported in the ongoing progression of their art making capabilities and knowledgebase. Participants grow in confidence and get to know other people who live with similar struggles to their own.
Specialist wages for the art therapists and art tutors in this class - 50% of one terms cost for this.
Art making is known to boost mental and physical dexterity and coordination, as well as emotional and psychological stability. Being part of a creative community, developing companionship with others and supporting one another, are central outcomes of Leading a Creative Life. We feel this strongly aligns with JICT’s criteria in the areas of projects providing social connection, support for mental health and disabilities. As well as providing educational activity to the community. It can be considered that outcomes are realised at the end of each 10 week term. After each session evaluation notes are taken tracking individual participants’ progress. Weekly reporting shapes the following weeks session, working toward the powerful outcome of artists seeing their work exhibited. We had a particularly exciting outcome this year, when one of our artists, Kerry Deane was selected by a Artspace to be included in a public exhibition. This is the first time in 24 years that one of our artists has been included in a professional gallery as opposed to a community space. We arranged for the whole class to go in vans to the gallery to see the work and meet with the gallery staff. It was uplifting for everyone and evidence of how important this programme is. Kerry is a previously un-trained artist, having been a solicitor before his stroke, and never made art before. Please see the link.
https://www.instagram.com/artspace.aotearoa/p/C_OenJrBf8Y/
Youthline Central North Island Incorporated
To cover the professional external supervision for client and practitioner safety as per the counsellor, social or youth worker professional bodies they are registered under to practice
Costs of the above professional supervisor costs
This allowed us to provide youth counselling, Mentoring and Mental Health wellbeing programs and services in a safe and effective way by our specialist youth Counsellors and youth workers getting the ongoing professional oversite, professional supervision
The ongoing professional oversite/external supervision by their professional bodies by suitably qualified supervision proponents that they received regular fortnightly and or monthly professional supervision from their appropriately trained supervisors in their individual professions ensured appropriate safety and oversight of their work with at risk youth; this ensured the safety of their clients and the counsellor or youth worker themselves,
This continued professional upskilling/supervision allowed us to safely work and encourage young people to take control of their own futures and their outcomes allowing them to become active participating members of their community and society.
Complex Chronic Illness Support Incorporated
CCI Support Health & Wellness Facilitator provides specialist emotional and practical support to up to 178 x vulnerable Wellington based members who have complex chronic illnesses such as ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Long COVID etc.
The grant of $3,000 was used towards the salary of our Wellington based Health & Wellness Facilitator Luisa Power during March 2024 to April 2024.
Our members experience a range of disability, Symptom severity ranges from ‘mild’ (just able to manage work but at the expense of other areas of life), to ‘very severe’ (bed-bound, tube-fed, paralysed, without speech). Even symptoms which are classed as mild can involve the loss of at least 50% of normal function. Having the support of a specialist Health & Wellness Facilitator who provides understanding and validation without judgement is a welcome relief for our members when support from the medical sector is limited.
A huge thank you to the trustees for their ongoing generous support. It means so much to our organisation and to our members that you understand and care and stand with us.
Regenpreneur Ltd
The Regenerative Changemaker Community Site, funded by the John Ilott Charitable Trust, was launched to promote regenerative farming practices in New Zealand. Over the past year, we have developed a series of free masterclasses, interviews, and blog pages, creating a rich resource for community members.
This online hub serves as a platform for farmers to share experiences, gain insights from experts, and engage with peers interested in sustainable agriculture. The initiative aims to empower individuals to adopt regenerative practices, enhance environmental stewardship, and foster community resilience by providing these resources.
The $3,000 funding from the John Ilott Charitable Trust was allocated to the following key activities in support of the Regenerative Changemaker Community Site:
Website Development: A portion of the funds was used to create and enhance the community site, ensuring it is user-friendly and accessible for all participants.
Content Creation: The funding supported the development of free masterclasses, interviews, and blog pages. This included costs associated with writing, editing, and producing high-quality educational content tailored for the community.
Expert Engagement: Funds were used to reach out to industry experts, facilitating their contributions to the site through interviews and blog posts, which enrich the knowledge base available to community members.
Promotion and Outreach: The funding helped promote the community site through social media and other channels, attracting participants and increasing awareness of available resources.
Ongoing Resource Development: The remaining funds were allocated to create additional educational materials and updates to keep the content fresh and relevant for community members.
The John Ilott Charitable Trust grant has greatly improved our ability to promote regenerative farming practices and connect with the community. With this funding, we set up the Regenerative Changemaker Community Site, a central place for sharing important resources and ideas. We created free masterclasses, interviews, and blog pages that make accessing valuable information easier, especially for those struggling financially or living in remote areas. This initiative has helped build a supportive community among farmers, encouraging them to work together and share their experiences.
The funding was key to achieving our project goals. It allowed us to cover the costs of developing the community site, making it user-friendly. We also used the grant to produce quality content, including engaging masterclasses and expert interviews, which improved the overall learning experience. Our outreach efforts, supported by the grant, successfully attracted participants, helping us create a network of people dedicated to regenerative agriculture. This early success has set us up to seek more funding and partnerships in the future, ensuring we can continue providing valuable resources for our organisation and the communities we serve.
EVolocity Charitable Trust t/a EVolocity
Towards our EVolocity Wellington Regional Programme.
The grant was used towards the EVolocity regional co-ordinator contractor salary for Wellington during March 2024 to May 2024.
There is limited funding specific to the Wellington region. Your trustee's generosity has meant that the 8 x Wellington schools/groups with 21 teams have received support from our regional co-ordinator Annabelle Batchelor as they designed/built their electric vehicles (karts or bikes). During the year our young participants have learnt many new skills including mechanical and electrical engineering, CAD design, Arduino programming, welding , project management etc.
Wellington/Manawatu schools/groups participating in 2024:
Fergusson Intermediate School
Homeschool Wairarapa
Mana College
Otaki College
Upper Hutt College
Wairarapa Homeschool
Wellington College
Heretaunga College
We are gearing up for our 6 regional finals events around New Zealand throughout October. Our Wellington regional finals event is at Kartsport Manawatu on 28th October 2024.
NZ Improvisation Trust
This Grant was offered to support an advanced training program to grow the next generation of lighting and sound operators for the improvised theatre community, to address a skills shortage.
The Grant was spent on development and teaching time for the workshop presenter, kohas for teaching assistants, venue hire, and administration time to handle logistics.
As a result of this programme, we have a higher number of community members trained in some aspect of tech operation, and one of the participants will be teching a show as part of this year’s New Zealand Improv Festival, which is a fantastic outcome. We have a suite of resources that we will be making available for free to companies nation-wide later in the year.
This grant allowed us to offer the workshops for free. Without the grants we would have either needed to charge workshop participants for the workshop, at around $115 per person, vastly limiting the number and type of people able to participate in the workshops, or ask the workshop presenter and support staff to volunteer their time or work for significantly below market rates.