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Youth Mental Health
During the months of July, August, and September, we focus on raising funds for charities that support youth mental health. These charities provide counselling and suicide prevention services.
Put quite simply, these need money to run, so this campaign is purely about fundraising. During this time, we help businesses run team bonding activities that focus on supporting youth mental health. Businesses particularly love the Wak of Hope, which we run in regions across the country.
You or your business can help by:
✅ Reaching out to us about organising a Walk of Hope for your business or large community group
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Sustainable Living
As the weather turns colder, we focus on what people need to survive winter. In Apri, May, and June we focus on helping charities with things like:
- Food security
- Sourcing warm clothes and blankets, and
- Establishing community gardens.
To further support sustainable living, we also look at how we can better care for our environment. We mobilise teams of volunteers to help with things like:
- Beach cleanups and
- Planting native trees
You or your business can help by:
✅ Donating money so we can help our endorsed charities meet their needs
✅ Helping us run a donation drive for new (or in very good used condition) blankets and warm clothing
✅ Reaching out to us about hosting a volunteering day
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Backpacks4Education
As families prepare to send their children back to school at the end of January, we stand alongside them, ensuring they have the school supplies they need.
In January, February, and March each year, we run our Backpacks4School campaign. During this campaign we:
- Seek donations of new stationery, school bags, lunch boxes, drink bottles, and personal hygiene items (or money to purchase these goods)
- Work with volunteers to assemble filled backpacks for children
- Liaise with our endorsed charities to determine need
We extend this campaign right through to the end of March because it allows us to provide charities like women's refuges and those providing transitional housing with additional bags that they can store until they are needed later in the year. Frequently families turn up to these charities with very few belongings, having fled from troubling circumstances. Being able to give children a school bag and settle them into a school quickly helps them to cope by providing routine and familiarity.
You or your business can help by:
✅ Donating money or supplies that will be used to support charities in your region
✅ Reaching out to us about hosting a volunteering day to help fill school bags
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Community Research
Our work is supported by robust research
Every year, the Catalytic Foundation conducts robust research in communities throughout Aotearoa to identify what our communities need to thrive.
Our research looks at:
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What charities need, based on the needs they are seeing in their community
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How people are using community services
- How the Catalytic Foundation and our supporters can help
In 2023, we collected 208 responses from 199 individual community organisations. The results were eye-opening, with a massive 98% of charities saying they are seeing an increase in demand for their services. This is a big jump on previous years and shows the community-level impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
The results from this annual survey provide vital guidance for the Catalytic Foundation's work.View the results of the Catalytic Foundation's 2023 survey here.
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Jacqueline Barker published 2024 Southland Community Grant Awards in Latest News 2024-03-27 10:15:55 +1300
2024 Southland Community Grant Awards
Because of a generous donation made by The Tindall Foundation, we were able to award the following Southland charities with grants for 2024:
- NZ Council of Victim Support
- Lighthouse Southland
- Kahu Youth Trust
- Southland Beneficiaries and Community Rights Centre
- YMCA of Invercargill Charitable Trust
- Flying Geese Trust
These charities all do amazing, and much-needed work in their community. We are proud to be able to support them with both a financial grant and the Catalytic Foundation's endorsed charity status.
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Jacqueline Barker published 2024 South Canterbury Community Grants in Latest News 2024-03-27 10:07:16 +1300
2024 South Canterbury Community Grants
Catalytic Ambassador, Liz Shea, kindly hosted a lunch for the recipients of the Catalytic Foundation's community grants for 2024.
The recipients of these grants were:
- NZ Council of Victim Support Groups Inc. South Canterbury
- English Language Partners Aoraki
- Geraldine Family & Youth Trust
- Citizens Advice Bureau South Canterbury Inc.
- Centrecare Counselling Waimate
Thank you to The Tindall Foundation and individual payday donors for making these grants possible!
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Jacqueline Barker published 2024 Otago Catalytic Grant Awards Celebration in Latest News 2024-03-27 09:48:30 +1300
Otago Catalytic Community Grant Awards
Otago Polytechnic recently hosted an Otago Community Grant Awards evening, where we were able to announce the recipients of $189,130 worth of community grants.Congratulations to all of the recipients. The work you do in your community is making a positive impact on the lives of others and we are glad we can help you continue to make a difference.
To our supporters who made this all possible - THANK YOU!! Your generous contributions have made a world of difference to the people in your community. These include, The Tindal Foundation, Otago Polytechnic Charity House project, Mercy Hospital, Polsen Higgs, and our individual Payday donors. You are utterly amazing!
The recipients of the grants in Otago were:
- Presbyterian Support Otago Inc
- Be Heard Children's Counselling Trust
- Volunteer South | Kaituao o te Taitonga
- Dunedin Curtain Bank
- Youthline Otago Inc
- Heart Kids NZ - Otago
- Stopping Violence Dunedin Inc
- Te Hou Ora Whānau Services
- SuperGrans Dunedin Charitable Trust
- Pregnancy Help Incorporated Dunedin Branch
- Dunedin Community Mediation
- North East Valley Community Development Project Inc (The Valley Project)
- Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust
- Otago Youth Wellness Trust
- Life Education Trust Coastal Otago
- Dunedin Community Transport Trust (Plus Bus)
- Pivotal Point Charitable Trust
- Methodist Mission Southern
- Musselburgh Rise Community Trust
- Dunedin Group Riding for the Disabled Association Incorporated
- Waitaki Multicultural Council
- Life Education Trust Heartland Otago Southland
- English Language Partners Dunedin
- Disability Information Service t/a Livingwell Disability Resource Centre
- The Straight Up Trust (Rock Solid Youth Development Programmes)
- The Brain Injury Association Otago
- Whakatipu Youth Trust
- Digital Future Aotearoa
- NZ Council Of Victim Support Groups Inc.
- Age Concern Otago
- The Work Opportunities Trust
- Strath Taieri Connect Charitable Trust.
- Connections Education and Development Trust: Studio2
- Central Otago Friendship Network
- People First New Zealand Inc. - Ngā Tāngata Tuatahi
- Central Otago Budgeting Services
- Happiness House
- Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ
- Social Impact Studio, University of Otago
- Cromwell Youth Trust
- The Nest Collective NZ Charitable Trust
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Jacqueline Barker published Sustainable philanthropy as a core value in Latest News 2024-02-07 15:25:48 +1300
Sustainable philanthropy as a core value
Spotlight on Teresa Moore, CEO of the Catalytic Foundation
Teresa Moore has been at the helm of the Catalytic Foundation since 2018. During this time, she has used her compassionate nature, business acumen, financial savviness, and people skills to drive social change throughout Aotearoa. However, going forward, she sees the need to strengthen the connection between young people and the natural environment.
Through her work with over 200 charities nationwide, Teresa has identified that building the connection between young people and the natural environment is highly beneficial for the environment and those youths who connect with charities throughout Aotearoa because of their personal challenges. This also reflects a step toward achieving the United Nation’s sustainable development goal relating to education that focusses on ensuring inclusive and quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning.
She said, “I believe our young people can really benefit from learning in and about the natural environment. Through the charities we work with, I can see that many of our young people are struggling because they don’t feel like they have a direction or purpose in life. Once the charities we work alongside help these young people establish a sense of purpose, their lives turn around for the better. For me, I can see the dual benefit of supporting charities that encourage these young people to build a passion for the environment.”
Teresa understands the sense of responsibility and benefits a connection with the environment brings because of her foundations in marine biology and sustainability. Teresa has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and earned a Master of Management with her thesis on renewable energy. This passion and experience has well-equipped her to identify the benefits and challenges of supporting community projects with an environmental focus.
Teresa said, “It is my lifelong ambition to care for the environment and to pass on an appreciation for the environment to future generations. Planting the seeds of environmental awareness in the fertile minds of the young is like planting a tree. With time and nurturing, this seed grows into a steadfast force, shaping individual actions and influencing future choices. Early environmental education helps children and young people develop the roots that ground their values, the branches that reach towards sustainable choices, and the leaves that reflect green initiatives in every aspect of life. Learning about the environment at a young age is not merely an act of planting a tree; it is about growing a forest of guardians for our planet's future."
Teresa has had the opportunity to witness first-hand the benefits of getting youths involved in caring for our environment by leveraging the Catalytic Foundation work with Sustainable Coastlines (volunteering and STEM education activities) and as an umbrella charity for Within Nature. The Northland charity WithinNature helps youth face their challenges by refocusing them on whakapakari whenua (regenerating the land). The youth, who are directed to the programme through youth providers and marae, work on restoring degraded ecosystems and revitalising the land while strengthening their cultural identity, learning leadership skills, and understanding the need to care for, and not exploit, the land.
Explaining how she fell in love with nature, Teresa said, “I was born in Whangārei and while visiting my grandfather, I would sit on the wharf at Port Albert, and listen to him talk about the ecosystem around us. I fell in love with the ocean because of its life force. That passion has helped me pursue opportunities I would never have thought possible.”
For example, Teresa went on to work as a scientist aboard deep-sea trawlers and has sailed in every major ocean around the world. She established a sailing boat charter company in NZ and Tonga and has also served as CEO for the Sir Peter Blake Marine Education Centre. She accredits the inspiration for this work to those earlier days with her grandfather, her mentor, who took the time to show her the environment around her.
Teresa’s current work with the Catalytic Foundation sees her supporting youth charities and social based services from Northland to Invercargill. She plays an active role in obtaining and managing large donations to ensure smaller charities, who may not have the capacity or skills to access larger grants, are given financial support, mentoring, and any other help they may need.
In addition to this, as CEO of the Catalytic Foundation, Teresa works closely with companies to help them meet their sustainable development goals and attract and retain the best staff by involving them in bespoke volunteering opportunities, as part of the quarterly Catalytic community support campaigns.
Teresa believes mighty trees grow from small seeds! If you too would like to support our environment, our youth and their mentors, please consider becoming a regular donor to the Catalytic Foundation. For further details please click here.
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Jacqueline Barker published Success by Te Hou Ora's Youth Justice programme in Latest News 2024-01-30 13:27:16 +1300
Success by Te Hou Ora's Youth Justice programme
We are proud to have supported Te Hou Ora's successful Youth Justice programme in the Otago region in 2023. They shared this heartwarming story with us that demonstrates the level of impact they have on the lives of youth in their community. Thank you for helping this rangatahi, and many others, onto a prosperous path.
"We had a rangatahi move onto a Youth Development Plan from Supported Bail. At the time of this change the rangatahi was living in a residential house, with the intention of moving home with their family within the 6 months following their referral.
"The rangatahi had a lot going on in terms of family and mental health and was grateful for the supports that had been put in place to help them. We found that working alongside other professionals and building a good rapport with this individual would be key in ensuring their needs are able to be met. The rangatahi was willing to engage in activities, whether it be bike riding, walks along the beach, sports, even finding that pulling thread out of flax was a therapeutic activity. The rangatahi was tested in a group environment, there was a bit of hesitancy at first but got involved amongst their peers. Contact time with the rangatahi varied as they were enrolled in school where the rangatahi engaged well, and we were able to use some of our contact time to help with homework. Though there were times where incidents did happen within school, an instance resulting in suspension, the rangatahi got back into work as soon as they were allowed back. Whilst with us the rangatahi got on well with staff and enjoyed the chat provided both ways. The rangatahi was invested in current events and talked about what was going on in the world as well as how it was affecting them. The rangatahi often went on strike to show support for people struggling within New Zealand especially with job security and vaccine mandates.
"Being able to discuss these issues with the rangatahi and look at the possible pathways he would like to take in the future, it made sense that in the long term they were wanting to study Law in the hope of becoming a Youth Advocate. Being involved in pro social activities as well as having a good rapport with staff, engaging well with school, enabling the rangatahi the safe space to talk, coinciding with the support of other professionals, the rangatahi was equipped with the tools to complete their Youth Development Plan. The rangatahi was later placed onto mentoring with us and during this time they made the successful transition home with family."
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Jacqueline Barker published Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ in Latest News 2024-01-23 15:58:22 +1300
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ
As we enter 2024, we would like to take some time to shine a spotlight on some of the charities we supported with grants and other initiatives in 2023. One of the organisations that really stood out to us was Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Trust NZ (https://www.facebook.com/grg.org.nz) (GRG), who operate throughout the country including in Southland, Whanganui, Canterbury, and Otago.
This amazing organisation supported 796 caregiver families, 1356 grandparent and whānau/kin caregivers, and 2573 tamariki and rangatahi last year. What a monumental effort!
GRG shared with us the impact their support and advocacy had for a grandmother who was facing challenges obtaining the unsupported child benefit. They told us that GRG played a crucial role in helping the grandmother file a court application and obtain interim custody of her grandchildren. Regarding obtaining financial assistance for the family in the form of the unsupported child benefit, GRG said:
"The journey to secure UCB was marked by declined applications, rejections, and missed hearings due to communication gaps. However, her determination, combined with GRG’s steadfast backing, proved unstoppable. Through GRG’s support, she reapplied, advocating for retroactive payments, resulting in an astounding $10,571.22 in UCB arrears payments."
GRG's support extends beyond advocacy services. GRG explained further, "Beyond financial advocacy, GRG provided crucial emotional support and guidance, becoming an unwavering source of strength. In the face of adversity, GRG emerged as a reliable pillar, ensuring that grandparents raising grandchildren and whanau/kin carers not only receive essential resources but also the encouragement needed for their journey."
It is clear how necessary GRG's services are within our communities to improve the lives of children being raised by their grandparents and whānau/kin caregivers. Thank you for your hard work and dedication! We appreciate everything you do.
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Jacqueline Barker published Sell my cell - a new and easy way to donate in Latest News 2022-08-18 14:28:11 +1200
Sell my cell - a new and easy way to donate
Does your organisation regularly change over its mobile phones? Did you know your old phones can help support local charities? Sell my cell is a company that buys and resells old mobile phones. Their process is simple. You package up your old phones and send them to Sell my Cell. They then provide a non-obligation quote stating how much they are willing to pay for your old phones. If you are happy with this quote, you can accept it. If by chance, you are unhappy with the quote, they return the phones to you free of charge.
There are two ways to donate the money to us:
- You can have the money paid for the phones to your company and then donate this to the Catalytic Foundation’s bank account 12-3067-0187344-00 with your company name as the reference. This has the added advantage that you can claim one-third of the donation back in tax credits.
- Alternatively, you can simply elect to have Sell my cell pay the proceeds from the phones directly to Catalytic Foundation.
What a great way to put your old technology to use!
Find out more about Sell my cell at www.sellmycell.co.nz
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Jacqueline Barker published Pitney Bowes volunteering day 2022 in Latest News 2022-08-02 09:53:56 +1200
Pitney Bowes volunteering day 2022
I would like to say thank you to the team at Pitney Bowes for making me feel very welcome at my first-ever volunteering day as a member of the Catalytic Foundation team. The volunteering day, held in early July 2022, supported both our Edu2022 campaign and our Warm Winters campaign.
The day started with the team forming a very enthusiastic assembly line to fill backpacks with school supplies like pencil cases, stationery, books, lunchboxes and drink bottles. Each bag was assembled taking into consideration what a child of that age would like and need. We assembled 40 backpacks in total. We had quite a few laughs as we passed the backpacks around and it was a lot of fun.
After a quick break for morning tea, we moved on to sorting through a massive pile of clothing donated by the NZ Olympic Committee. We ensured all clothes were in excellent condition (they already were!) before sorting them into summer and winter piles. We then neatly folded them and packed them into bags ready to donate to De Paul House.
Once we had loaded the cars we headed to De Paul House in Northcote where we were met by Lesley. Lesley told us that often families turn up to De Paul house with nothing because they have urgently had to leave a domestic violence situation or they have been displaced from their housing with little notice and no option to return to collect their belongings. For the children in these families, this means they do not have the necessary equipment to go to school. We gave all 40 backpacks to De Paul House. The Social Workers were very excited about them because they would help the kids in De Paul house settle into school and feel more secure with a daily routine. De Paul house also offers parents courses, like cooking and budgeting, during school hours so the whole family can be supported and helped towards a better life. Finally, we had a tour of the facilities in De Paul House and learnt quite a bit about the type of support they both give and need.
De Paul house was also thankful for the very warm jackets and winter clothes donated by the NZ Olympic committee. With the weather starting to turn icy, they were going to work to get them out to their community straight away.
We finished the volunteering day with a relaxing lunch at a local café, which was kindly funded by Pitney Bowes. We talked about what we had gained from the day, and more specifically, about the work of De Paul House.
The summer clothing will be kept for another campaign when the weather starts to warm up.
Pitney Bowes is an American based company that specialises in mail technology solutions, like letter folding machines and envelope printers, support and encourage their staff to be involved in giving back to the community by matching pay-day giving and giving staff paid opportunities to do volunteer work. We know that these are important factors in encouraging staff job satisfaction and retention. If you would like to know more about how the Catalytic Foundation can help your organisation establish an environment of corporate social giving, please contact us.
I am looking forward to being involved in more volunteering days like this.
By Jacqui Barker, Communications and Administration, Catalytic Foundation