Visitors: Dr Josie Cranshaw
Venue: The meeting was held at BOP youth development trust 13th Ave, Tauranga.
Introduction
Lynda introduced all the members to Craig Nees , who leads the team at the
Tauranga youth Central. Craig welcomed all the Rotary Guests to their club and briefly introduced them. He then outlined the morning schedule and advised members to grab breakfast and watch a brief video about their team's work for the community.
Video brief
In the video, all the team members and their roles at the facility were introduced. The team comprises dedicated men and women from different walks of life trying to make a difference every day. The video also outlined six initiatives currently underway under the BOP youth development trust. They include the Boxing Academy (Tauranga central being the venue for this), Imagine Belief Achieve (IBA), AIGA (Pacifica Youth Suicide Prevention), Ki Tai, Ringside coffee shop and Ki Aranui youth trust. All these programmes are aimed at helping youth overcome challenges in different spheres of their lives.
Once the video ended, it was time for questions from the audience.
Question round
The first one was a question about "what's missing?
The answer was multifaceted. One of the things missing is funding! Another issue that was outlined was "transport". Transport for young kids from different areas of Bay of Plenty is a bottleneck. Accommodation for kids was also identified as a challenge. Craig pointed out that some of the kids enjoy a positive environment here at the facility; however, they return to a challenging or abusive environment. A short – medium term solution is on the wish list and part of the vision.
Talking about the vision, another aim is for the arena to run seven days a week and even in the evenings, where the facility is used for coaching parents who are caring for struggling kids. The facility also aspires to enable struggling kids and parents to connect with the appropriate agencies for help and support to get back on track. Another programme being developed is to have marine based activity. The programme is about teaching kids the concepts of team fitness and the environment—the programme will be up and running summer of next year.
One of the comments made by our members was about the need for mentors. To this, Craig responded with unconditional support for more mentors who can have one-on-one time with some of the kids to provide guidance and support. He also clearly mentioned that the need for mentors is enormous!
The next question was about the process of getting kids into the system.
Kids get referred by the family/Whanau, police, Graeme Dingle Foundation, Ministry of education etc. Ministry of education is one of the funders. So a lot of the referrals come from them too.
Heartfelt gratitude was extended by our member Bill Holland to Craig and the team. He outlines the fantastic work the organization is doing for about 350 vulnerable people. He also recognized the congruence of all the other organizations working towards the same goal. Finally, he congratulated the team for their tremendous effort and wo
rk.
Exploring the facility
Members then explored the facility, socialized, and had fun with the incredible team at the facility.
Overall, the meeting was an excellent opportunity for the members to explore and familiarize themselves with this great initiative by the BOP youth development trust. To conclude, it was a remarkable convergence of extraordinary people from the trust and our club that are out there to make a difference!
Announcements
Birthdays of members and partners & Anniversaries – No Birthdays or anniversaries announcements were made.
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Any idea of where these might be, following Treasured Art, is appreciated.
Please note easels, not weasels.