Local charity Graeme Dingle Foundation Southern (formerly Graeme Dingle Foundation Southland) has tweaked its name to better reflect its reach across the lower South Island.

In addition to its school programmes run in Southland, the Graeme Dingle Foundation ‘Stars’ programme is now also delivered at Wakatipu High School in Queenstown. The charity’s team works directly with students across these schools to build skills that support their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

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The organisation currently walks alongside over 1200 tamariki and rangatahi every week through the delivery of its positive child and youth development programmes Kiwi Can, Stars and Career Navigator.

The programmes connect with tamariki and rangatahi at pivotal school moments: in primary school when they are learning how to regulate emotions and be guided by values (Kiwi Can); when they join high school on the cusp of their teenage years (Stars); and when they are thinking about life beyond high school (Career Navigator).

The programme has delivered Kiwi Can in schools in the Lower South Island since 2006 and Career Navigator since 2016. Stars was a new programme for the region in 2021, after being introduced by the organisation at a national level in 2000.

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“What makes our programmes unique is their focus on people and community. We take great pride in and carefully consider the people we place in classrooms acting as leaders, mentors, role models, significant others, facilitators and more,” general manager Dave Gibbs said.

“We empower students involved in the Kiwi Can, Stars and Career Navigator programmes to develop self-belief, life skills and resilience, and build their emotional and mental wellbeing.”

Dave said the charity wants to take this opportunity to recognise and celebrate the region’s young people and the inspiring things they achieve when given the right tools to support their mental and emotional wellbeing, and resilience.

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“One of our amazing Kiwi Can leaders went through the programme at school herself and today is a role model to so many students. We love it when teachers, parents and students themselves see and feel the difference from our work, and we really want to thank the community and all of our incredible supporters for ensuring we can continue and grow the work we do in the region.”

This is the first full year Wallacetown Primary School has been involved in Kiwi Can and principal Lisa Brady said it has been hugely successful.

As a new principal at the school, also negotiating a range of staff changes, she had noticed a few challenges in the playground around self-esteem and resilience.

Covid-19 and all of its lockdowns and restrictions had a huge impact on students’ wellbeing, “and everything they had known had been turned upside down,” she said.

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One day a week two Kiwi Can leaders come into the school and teach the values-based programme to the different classes.

“It’s been really good having some extra skills in the kete so that when a change happens to them, they know how to deal with it.”

Lisa said part of the success came from having different leaders involved with the children, “this gives the teachers a great opportunity to sit back and observe their class, and the kids love the leaders that take Kiwi Can.

“As staff we have definitely noticed a change out in the playground with students using the skills they have covered in Kiwi Can to help solve problems on their own, before getting the teacher to help”.

The school has a small role of 70 and the children really look forward to the programme each week.

As a charitable trust, the Foundation relies on the generosity of local sponsors, donors and grants. It thanks all supporters, some of whom include Community Trust South, Sanford, Aotearoa Gaming Trust, Central Lakes Trust, ILT Foundation, Lottery Community Fund, Bidfood, Mataura Licensing Trust via The Trusts Community Foundation, and Skyline Queenstown.

Entries have also just opened for its annual Drop for Youth fundraising campaign, where ‘droppers’ fundraise to jump off Queenstown’s Kawarau bridge and ultimately help tamariki and rangatahi in the Lower South Island to reach their potential.

More information about Graeme Dingle Foundation Southern and Drop For Youth is available here.

Local Mental Health Charity Rebrands To Reflect Wider Reach

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