Challenge 2000 is a professional youth community development and social work agency that serves the Wellington, Tawa and Lower Hutt areas. The Small Grants Fund has provided funding for the second phase of a youth leadership programme called ‘The Challenge – Youth in Action’. A group of 12 young people will attend a leadership week which prepares them for placement in voluntary work with children or young people in their community (the second phase of the project). The young people are mentored and supervised throughout the project. The overall aim of the project is to see young people committed to working for justice in the community, especially justice for the young.

Mount Cook Preschool
Wellington, total funding: $2025

The Small Grants Fund has provided funding for the employment of a young Somali woman for 30 hours a week for 6 months to work with the preschool's East African children and their families. The goals of the project are to provide support for disadvantaged Somali children, provide a bridge between the preschool and the Somali community thus enhancing parental involvement and understanding of preschool, and provide the young Somali woman with valuable work experience in a society where quality jobs for disadvantaged migrants are scarce.

Tahunanui Community Centre
Nelson, total funding: $810.00

The Tahunanui Community Centre provides preschool and after school programmes for children, parenting courses and support for families under stress. The Small Grants Fund has provided funding to assist with the provision of a range of parent workshops and educational resources for families in the community. These workshops assist at least 30 parents to strengthen and extend their parenting skills. They help parents to identify their current challenges and strengths and learn new skills and strategies. This helps parents gain confidence and become more resourceful and supportive of others in their parenting.

Te Ratonga Ture, Community Law Centre
Hutt Valley, partial funding of $2,100

This project provides law related education programmes to Maori youth in the Hutt Valley. The course empowers Maori youth to take responsibility for law-related issues that arise in their communities. The programme looks at legal rights and duties, youth justice, the Treaty of Waitangi and other law-related issues. The objective of the course is “to encourage our children to strive for understanding of the laws of the land and so understand their power to make a positive difference for themselves, their whanau and their community."

YWCA Wellington and Lower Hutt
Total funding: $2,205

Funding was provided to run three self-defence courses for young women aged between 12 and 18 years. These self-defence courses focus on girls from at-risk communities that do not normally have access to self-defence courses. The YWCA has a strong youth development approach to their work. They involve young people in the design and delivery of their programmes. YWCA are an organisation that are proactive in the areas of social justice and change.

Otaki Health Camp School
Partial funding: $1,000

Funding has been provided for the purchase of social development materials which are not covered by the school's usual funding sources. Most of the 5 to 12 year old children attending the health camp are from Decile One schools and low income families. Many come with health needs, learning, behaviour, respite care, nourishment and peer/sibling relationship concerns. The children come from a catchment area that covers Nelson/Marlborough through to Taranaki, Wellington and the Wairarapa.

Click below for other years' recipients:

Funding Recipients 2004

Funding Recipients 2003