Enhancing lives seen through grants across focus areas at Foundation North
Foundation North, the community Trust of Auckland and Northland, is working to better enhance the lives of people in our communities with a strategic intent to fund across four focus areas. Established as Hāpai te ōritetanga (Increased equity), Whakauru mai (Social inclusion), Whakahou taiao (Regenerative environment) and Hāpori awhina (Community support). Examples of grants from August 2020 allocated into each focus area are shown below.
Hāpai te ōritetanga | Increased Equity
Ōmanaia Marae in Te Tai Tokerau received a grant of $500,000 to help demolish the existing wharekau and rebuild of a new building. The grant will also help improve walkways linking the raised buildings and facilities, refurbishment of an overflow room which will be used as a multi-purpose room where services can be provided for the wider community. The redevelopment will benefit whanau, hapu and people within the surrounding communities.
Whakauru mai | Social Inclusion
TalkLink Trust received a grant of $25,000 to assist 1794 disabled people with communication impairments in South Auckland and Northland. Aotearoa, New Zealand strives to become a non-disabling society, a place where disabled people have an equal opportunity to achieve their goals and aspirations. Communication is at the heart of inclusion, but for many of the people TalkLink support, their ability to communicate is affected. Communication impairments result from many causes and can be lifelong such as Cerebral Palsy or Autism Spectrum Disorder, or acquired, for example as a result of a stroke, head injury or neurological conditions such as Motor Neurone Disease. Communication assistive technology helps break down the barriers to inclusion by providing options to support communication and give people a voice. TalkLink is working alongside an increasing number of disabled people to assist them adopt high technology equipment as their unique form of communication.
Whakahou taiao | Regenerative Environment
The Native Bird Rescue Charitable Trust (pictured) received a grant of $60,000. The funding will help continue with Year 2 of the Trust’s Community Wildlife Connections (CWC) Programme. Their core work is in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of protected native and endemic avian wildlife. The aims of the CWC Programme are to educate and inspire communities to actively participate in the conservation of our ecosystem, create understanding of, and community commitment to valuing the environment in which our wildlife can thrive and sow the seeds for this programme to spread across New Zealand.
Hāpori awhina | Community Support
Odyssey House Trust received a grant of $120,000 with the intention to support its work training programmes guiding people with addiction or mental health challenges to overcome barriers to employment or further education. Foundation North’s ongoing support has enabled 82 Odyssey residents to participate since 2016; moving them towards pathways that are proven to support longer-term recovery. Odyssey’s programmes create opportunities for trainees to improve their personal self-esteem, self-efficacy, resilience, coping and communication skills. Funding will assist in constructing an outdoor classroom, which allow Odyssey to build on learning systems. Funding will support development of a Community Connection service that supports participants in Odyssey’s work training programmes to think about and prepare for career or learning pathways after staying with Odyssey. Peer Navigators will role model ways to live in active recovery and to participate in the community, coaching and mentoring trainees to access relationships and resources that encourage sustained recovery (e.g. employment, training, and voluntary opportunities).
