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All by Myself!

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It has been another momentous month within the InZone Project with several great events taking place. It amazes me how much our small team has been able to accomplish during this busy exam period. Of course we have had a whole lot of help from friends of the hostel, which has allowed us to do some really special things in the last month. Here’s a taste of what’s been going on for us over November.


Community Whanau Day

 

On November 9th we put together and ran our very first Community Whanau Day at Owens Road. As I mentioned in the last blog, this day was being used for a couple a reasons. Firstly, to promote the hostel within the community, making new relationships with our neighbours and making our presence felt. I’m sure by this stage many of our neighbours have become quite interested in what’s going on at 99 Owens Road with all the noise we must make! As well as getting to know the neighbours better, we also wanted to promote Handy Boys, our student-led business enterprise that sees our boys out making money in the holidays doing chores for whoever they can.

The day ended up being really successful! The boys had done mail drops during the week to advertise the event and even knocked on a bunch of doors to talk to people and explain what was going on. We invited everyone in the surrounding area and hoped for the best. It turns out the boys made quite an impression on the local community during their mail drops and we had up to 100 people at the hostel at its peak! Which was a great number. Everyone took part in activities that the boys were running and enjoyed the food we had prepared. The whole time some of the boys were taking down details and getting people signed up to Handy Boys as well. We were able to sign up over 20 houses on the day and the boys have already begun ticking off some jobs and making some cash. I’m really proud of the initiative they have shown during this process, they’ve certainly grown a lot in the last year to be able to take on these bigger responsibilities.

 

Charity Auction

 

This was the big one. I spoke in my last blog about how much hinges on the success of this one night, and I was not exaggerating. With the support we received from Vodafone, this year was our most successful auction ever. The night was held at the Vodafone head offices at the viaduct and the atmosphere was fantastic. Over 200 people attended the night and through ticket sales, donations and auction items, we were able to raise just under $100,000. This is an incredible boost moving forward into the New Year.

The boys did such an amazing job of representing the InZone Project with pride on the night. They served food, talked with all of the guests, performed songs and a haka and presented speeches for the crowd. One thing the boys always do is write personalised thank you letters to all of the guests, and they make a point of tracking down each person on the night to give them their letter. That personal touch that the boys provide makes the night really meaningful for the people attending and it does wonders in strengthening our relationships with the guests.

I can’t stress enough how important Vodafone’s involvement was this year to the success of the night. As well as all of the planning and preparation for the night itself, for the month leading up to auction a team from Vodafone was also running an online auction to raise funds for us, and because they did so well, they earned us a $10,000 bonus!

I have enjoyed having Vodafone’s support so much this year and they have gone above and beyond my expectations of what I thought was possible. It’s been so refreshing working alongside such passionate staff members who truly care about the work I do. A big thanks goes to Steve Rieger, Naomi Whittaker and the rest of the Wholesale & Business Development Team for the extra work they put in for the InZone Project!

 

Paula Bennett Visit

 

On Thursday the 21st of November we had a visit from Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett. I had been trying to get her along for a while now, as we are searching every possible avenue for government funding. For most people, when I describe the InZone Project to them, they really can’t gain an appreciation for what goes on here straight away, but when they see it for themselves it all starts to make sense. I can only hope that we made a great impression on her during her visit and have shown the need for government support, as well as the benefit their support would give to young Maori and Pacific Islanders.

 

Prize Giving

 

Our annual Prize Giving has been and gone. Honestly, I can’t believe I’m already saying that! So much has gone on this year and so much has been achieved. We celebrated the boys’ achievements at Auckland Grammar School on Monday with a large group of family members and other stakeholders. It still amazes me how much improvements some of our students have made in their time with us. The academic advancements are wonderful, but even more than that, I have had the privilege of watching these young men mature and become better people. It’s such a unique experience being a part of so many boys’ development through their important teenaged years. There is so much change that goes on and I get to reflect heavily on that in times like the prize giving.

This year we gave out awards for outstanding effort in school, academic achievement, sporting achievements, and our special awards for topping classes, hostel leadership and other such successes. It was also a time to honour the people who have made great commitments to the hostel through donations and other kinds of support like tutoring.

Each year we invite a few people or organisations to become lifetime friends of the hostel and this year we were glad to bring in Andrew Patterson, Liz Towns, Adrian Stevanon and Jack Tarrant.

Following the ceremony we joined with all of the guests and ate some delicious food to end the day. It’s one of the few times that all of the parents get to catch up with each other and share stories, so it’s truly a special time for the InZone Whanau.

 

Festival of Education

 

We’ve been invited to take part in the Festival of Education next year in March and will most likely play a large role in the event.

The event focuses on sharing with other educators the stories, trials and successes that we go through in our industry. The time is used to encourage each other in our work and to explore new innovations in the area of education. Being such a unique and new education initiative, there are many people who will want to hear about the InZone Project so we will be sharing a lot of what we do with this particular community. I also look forward to learning from everyone else and taking in new information, strategies and inspiration to make the InZone Project better than it is now. There is always room for growth and teaming up with other passionate educators is a great way to improve our work.

 

Boys Going Home

 

The boys are about to take part in Auckland Grammar School’s end of year prize giving and once that is completed, they are free to go! The long school year will finally be over and all of our boys will be heading back home to enjoy their summer breaks. I always miss the boys heaps during the holidays so I’m sure I’ll try to get around and visit a bunch of them when I get the chance. Things will definitely be a lot quieter around the hostel over summer, but we’ll use the time as best as we can. There a bunch of repairs required after having the boys live here all year, as well as some painting and other touch-ups that can be done. In the long run we’ll be aiming to refurbish and extend our kitchen and dining area, so planning for that will take place over the holiday break too. In reality, the break won’t be all that long, as in early January we have the Teach First NZ Summer Camp taking place at the hostel. It’ll be a great chance to get the new boys used to the hostel and to meet some of our older boys.

In the meantime though, I am going to catch my breath! Though I’ll be busy over the break, I will have more time to relax and clear my head of what has been a tiresome and often tumultuous year. I’ll also have some time to properly plan the rollout of the InZone Project, which is a major goal under my world of difference year. The start of the girls’ project has set for 2015 so a lot will go on next year to secure that. I’ll be sure to write about that in more detail in my next blog!

 

Until next time, I wish you all a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year!

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