September 2010 Recipients
SPCA Auckland

The SPCA Auckland received funding to the tune of $7,600 to assist in the redevelopment of the organisation’s website. The funds will enable the site with Web 2.0 capability bring greater interactivity online between the SPCA and its supporters. Jeanine Gribbin, Fundraising Manager for the SPCA Auckland, says the website is a crucial tool enabling the organisation to reach out and engage with its supporters. “Online marketing is playing an increasing role for charitable organisations and by upgrading our website we will be able to facilitate two way communications with our supporters, particularly young people, which is part of our wider education strategy,” says Gribbin. The new website will allow young people to learn more about animals and the SPCA in a fun way through stories, images and videos. The organisation is also currently developing its social media capabilities.

September 2010 Recipients
Dawson Primary School

Dawson Primary School’s grant will support the ‘Grow, Cook and Eat’ programme which teaches students how to grow and prepare fresh produce. The $2,046 grant will be used to construct two large vegetable gardens and purchase soil and seeds. Students in years four to six will plant a range of vegetables which will be harvested and prepared for school lunches at a new purpose-built kitchen which is currently being constructed. “We believe the new garden will be an innovative way to incorporate environmental education into the curriculum and educate children about healthy eating and maintaining our resources,” says Deborah Davies, a teacher at Dawson Primary School. “Learning to produce food has immediate and long-term effects for children and their families.” The staff at Dawson Primary School are passionate about environmental education and already involve students in maintaining worm farms, rain water collection tanks, compost bins and organic gardens and fruit trees.

September 2010 Recipients
Hamilton Group Riding for the Disabled

Around 140 children and young adults with disabilities will soon be enjoying the therapeutic benefits of horse riding thanks to a $6,000 grant made to Hamilton Group Riding for the Disabled. The funds will be used to resurface the riding arena on Pukete Road which has compacted due to heavy use and has caused lameness problems in some of the horses. This issue has also caused flooding in wet weather while making it extremely dusty in drier periods which affects both the horses and riders with breathing related conditions. “We have around 30 riders participating in our programme each day and it’s vital that we provide them with a safe riding environment. This grant will go a long way to protecting both the riders and our horses as well,” says Patricia Strang, Treasurer for the Hamilton Group Riding for the Disabled. The Hamilton organisation is one of 54 members of the New Zealand Riding for the Disabled Association. The group provides horse riding for the disabled community for therapeutic, educational and recreational purposes.

September 2010 Recipients
South Auckland Health Foundation

A $5,000 grant made to the South Auckland Health Foundation will contribute to the establishment of an ongoing fund to secure the future health of the children at Kidz First Children’s Hospital at Middlemore. The Foundation hopes to raise $1 million for the fund which will support 115,000 children under the age of 15 who use the service. The hospital has been providing services for children with ongoing chronic illnesses for 10 years. It also offers some regional dedicated services such as orthopaedics and plastic reconstructive surgery and a national service for children with severe burns. To celebrate the grant, the Mazda Foundation has received a brick in the Kidz First Healing Garden. The garden is a quiet space for both children and their families to use at the hospital. The South Auckland Health Foundation is a charitable trust which raises funds for the Counties Manukau District Health Board and Kidz First Children’s Hospital.

September 2010 Recipients
Tirohia School

A $3,500 grant to Tirohia School in Paeroa is music to the students’ ears. The funds will be used to purchase three keyboards and accessories for the school’s music programme. Tirohia School currently runs an elective programme where students can choose to learn the keyboard. A music teacher visits the school each week bringing with her keyboards borrowed from the local church. The teacher has noticed how much the students have benefitted from the lessons. They’ve not only developed their music skills but their concentration and co-ordination also. “Our keyboard programme not only provides students with enjoyment but also helps them develop new skills. Most students don’t have access to keyboards at home so this grant will help significantly in providing new opportunities,” says Rachel Barker, Tirohia School. “It will also mean we can offer more formal one-on-one keyboard tuition to our students.”

June 2010 Recipients
The First Tee

The First Tee New Zealand will be able to teach children life skills and develop their self esteem with its $4,000 grant. The organisation does this through providing ‘Golferships’ (golfing scholarships) to financially disadvantaged children. The First Tee believes the principles on which golf is based also promote character development and life values such as patience and commitment in an interactive and fun environment. Philippa King, Executive Director of The First Tee New Zealand, says the organisation works to help New Zealand children grow toward their potential of being productive, fulfilled adults who will make a contribution to society. The First Tee classes improve children’s confidence, social and communication skills and attitude towards responsibility, while also teaching them how to play golf. The First Tee was established in the United States in 1997 and since then 3.5 million children have participated in its programmes worldwide in Canada, England, Ireland, Singapore and New Zealand since 2005.

June 2010 Recipients
Oliver Posa

Hamilton teenager Oliver Posa, 13, will soon be enjoying the sport of hand-cycling thanks to the Mazda Foundation. Oliver received a $1,875 grant to purchase a specialised hand-cycle. Although Oliver was born with Spina Bifida and relies on a wheelchair for mobility,he hasn’t let it stop him from enjoying sports. He has participated in the Waikato Independence Games in track and field events for a number of years and also plays wheelchair basketball. The hand-cycle will further expand his sporting achievements, enable him to enjoy regular physical activity and maintain his upper body strength says his father, Mike Posa. “A hand-cycle would enable Oliver to benefit from more physical activity and improve his self-esteem by allowing him to participate in cycling-related outings with his able-bodied peers and family,” he says. Hand-cycling is an elite world level sport at the Paralympics and has its own World Championships. Parafed Waikato already has two members representing New Zealand at the World Championships in Canada in 2010.

June 2010 Recipients
Edmonton Primary School

A grant to Edmonton Primary School in Te Atatu, Auckland was music to its students’ ears. The school received $780 to purchase 20 ukuleles for its ukulele music group. Edmonton Primary hopes the new ukuleles will encourage its pupils to develop an appreciation for the arts and enhance their creativity. “We believe that experience in the arts during schooling provides individuals with the necessary skills, confidence and joy to continue to practice arts throughout their lives,” says Kathy McCarthy, Edmonton Primary School. Mazda Foundation trustee and ex-Edmonton School pupil Connie Miller was excited to revisit her old school to present the cheque. “It was fantastic to be able to assist the school’s music department as well as come back and see how much the grounds had changed!” says Miller. The ukulele group are now attending weekly music lessons and plan to perform with their new instruments at the school Christmas show and at the 2011 New Zealand Ukulele Festival.

June 2010 Recipients
Hohepa Canterbury

A $2905 grant made to Hohepa Canterbury, a provider of residential services for intellectually disabled adults, will fund a native garden at its farm which all of its residents will be able to access and enjoy. Raymond Eberhard, General Manager Hohepa Canterbury, says the farm is a special place for all of its residents. “We have many residents and day users who enjoy the freedom and peace of our farm. Some like to potter in gardens and grow veggies or flowers for use in their homes, others like to relax in the quiet or just wander about,” he says. The grant will cover the cost of installing paths throughout the garden so that wheelchair bound residents will be able to access it. Hopeha Canterbury was established in 1965 as a home school for children with intellectual disabilities, today it works to ensure its 70 residents can experience and participate in a happier life. The residents come from across the South Island and live at one of the two campuses in Barrington and Halswell.

June 2010 Recipients
Tamati Robens

Rotorua teenager Tamati Robens (14) will soon be experiencing the language and culture of Mexico with his $2,500 Mazda Foundation grant. Tamati will travel to Mexico with his Spanish language classmates from Te Kura O Te Kouto in January 2011. While there, he will live with a host family and experience day-to-day Mexican life and study at Instituto Cultural De Oaxaco, which is renowned for its Spanish language programme. While in Mexico, Tamati will also gain credits towards his future university study back in New Zealand. “Going to Mexico will be a trip of a life-time. I hope to experience the Mexican culture and people and get an idea about what the real world looks and feels like outside of New Zealand,” says Tamati. Tamati lives with his aunt Tracey Robens and siblings who have all been busy fundraising to reach the $10,000 required for each student to go on the trip. They’ve done this by running raffles and making harakeke kete (flax handbags) and selling them to the local community. “I am hoping this trip will help Tamati acquire many life skills and transition him from a local boy into an internationally savvy young man. From experience, I know that travel and exposure to other cultures is our best education. Understanding others also helps us to accept others,” says Robens.

March 2010 Recipients
Charlotte Davis

New Zealand Under 19 Womens Touch Rugby squad member Charlotte Davis (16) will soon have the chance to be selected for a significant trans-Tasman match in 2011 thanks to her Mazda Foundation grant. The Mangere teenager received a $3,854 grant which will contribute towards transport and accommodation costs for a Labour Weekend training and selection camp. Those selected at the camp will travel to New South Wales in 2011 to take on their Australian counterparts in a trans-Tasman tournament. “I’m thrilled to receive a Mazda Foundation grant. As well as making the team, I need to fundraise to attend training camps and tournaments and the grant will enable me to do this. I am a committed achiever and am determined to make the trans-Tasman team and perform at my best,” said Davis. Davis is heavily involved in sports having represented her school, Manurewa High School, and Counties Manukau at basketball and touch rugby.

March 2010 Recipients
Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind

New Zealand’s only library service for blind and partially sighted communities will receive an upgrade. The Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind (RNZFB) will convert their catalogue from a tape format to a digital format with its $10,000 grant. The library currently caters to blind and partially-sighted people who are unable to access mainstream libraries and provides more than 6,100 audio and Braille entertainment and educational titles. “The cassette tape solution is becoming unsustainable with the analogue players reaching the end of their useful lives. The Foundation is therefore embarking on an innovative new project to bring the library to its users through new technology,” said Dave Bellamy, Trusts and Foundations Manager, RNZFB. A new digital information system has been designed which will provide made-to-order digital resources. The Foundation is also collaborating with other organisations working on behalf of blind and partially sighted communities internationally, using the new digital system to enable them to share New Zealand literature with other blind and partially sighted people around the world.

March 2010 Recipients
South Taranaki District Museum Trust

A $4,000 grant to the South Taranaki Museum in Patea will enable its visitors to learn more about its history when a glass waka prow is installed. The grant will be used to commission a design for a glass cast waka prow that will take pride of place in the museum’s foyer. The cast will then be carved and fabricated into wax and brought to life by local glass artist Emma Camden who is donating her time to the project. “This grant will help us install a beautiful and unique artwork that reflects the spirit of bi-cultural collaboration,” said Marie McKay, South Taranaki Museum Trust. South Taranaki Museum is currently undergoing a redevelopment project. It is hoped the glass work will be installed in October this year in time for the museum’s official reopening in November.

March 2010 Recipients
NZ Land Search & Rescue Inc.

New Zealand received a $5,880 grant to run a New Zealand Land Search and Rescue Inc. (LandSAR) camp for leading tracking practitioners to further hone their skills. The organisation is one of 15 groups and individuals to benefit from the Mazda Foundation’s latest funding round which has seen more than $52,000 donated to a range of causes throughout New Zealand. “The four-day camp will ensure LandSAR groups possess the range of professional skills, local knowledge of terrain, conditions and experience for local search and rescue incidents,” said Wendy Waller, New Zealand Land Search and Rescue. LandSAR is the national volunteer organisation within New Zealand providing land search and rescue services to the Police and public of New Zealand.

March 2010 Recipients
Whakatane Blue Light Ventures

Whakatane Youth will soon have more resources at their fingertips to build their self-esteem and leadership skills with the help of a grant to Whakatane Blue Light Ventures. Whakatane Blue Light Ventures’ $2,490 grant will be used to purchase equipment for its BLAST programme which uses a range of activities to develop leadership, team building and problem solving skills. “We intend to use the new BLAST kits during our school holiday programmes and visits to local schools. The hands on nature of the programme holds the young people’s attention and they learn without even knowing it,” said Shelly Steel, Whakatane Blue Light Ventures. Blue Light is a national Police initiative aimed at reducing the incidence of youth offending and building better relations between youth and Police.