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    • Annual Staff Awards & AGM
      • This year the Annual General Meeting took place at the Lowry Bay Yacht Club on Tuesday the 14th of May. The meeting provides a valuable insight into the work of staff over the past year and gives everyone across the organisation a chance to reflect on the year gone bye. We celebrate the triumphs, the community impact and to hear stories from YMCA programme participants and partners alike. This is YMCA Greater Wellingtons 153rd AGM and today the meeting was opened by CEO Brendan Owens. Many of you will be aware of the YMCA Values, but today we focus around the YMCA pillars which are in essence why we do what we do. These are Family, Youth Development, Healthy Living & Social Responsibility. which bring structure to the business and our vision. We had the pleasure of hearing from local Labour MP Ginny Anderson who gave us an insight into the work going on behind the scenes to strengthen mental health, homeless and children’s services and to strengthen and support the community. Board Chairman Grant Baker took a stand with Brendan Owens to present and congratulate the staff awards. Y – Values Award. This award recognises a staff member displays the YMCA values (Honesty, Caring, Respect and Responsibility) in absolutely everything they do. This was awarded to Stephen Palmer. Stephen works tirelessly for the Y, working across 3 of our business units – camp, gym and raise up. He has been with the YMCA for 7 years and continues to do anything for the betterment of the Y and the young people that he works with. My Y Moment Award. This is Quite simply it’s “Y” we do what we do at the Y and to realise our impact and the steps along the way to fulfilling the Y’s mission. This award went to the House of Horrors event run at YMCA Upper Hutt, executed by Debbie Huston-Tupou & Stephen Palmer and the Raise Up crew. All involved in this event went the extra mile to make this event successful. The Raise Up crew did an amazing job of planning, organising, creating props, and putting together costumes in the months leading up to the event. The organisation and team work on the night led to a smooth-running event and hundreds of the local community attended. It was a privilege and wonderful to see the development of the young people of Upper Hutt into confident and strong leaders of their community. Innovation Award. This award is open to any staff member, programme or centre that has implemented an innovative initiative in their respective field. This award went to Nicole at YMCA Masterton for the Kia Kaha Ake programme. Nicole and her team at Masterton Rec have progressed during the year with more innovative programs and services. Kia Kaha Ake gives under 5’s an opportunity to play and recreate on bright colourful and sensory equipment. They have done a fantastic job of introducing this to the community and have seen hundreds of participants take part. Outdoor Educator of the Year Award. For staff that display excellence in outdoor education in everything they do. This award went to Tim Mitchell. Tim started at KOEC at the beginning of 2017. He began as a level one instructor and since then has worked hard to become one of our senior instructors delivering outdoor programmes at a very high standard every week. “His warmth and charismatic energy is what I believe fast tracks his bond with each and every kid. Gaining their trust so they feel free to be the best version of themselves” Children’s and Youth Staff Member of the Year Award. Displays excellence in everything they do, to all working in Children’s Services and Youth Staff . This award went to Joanne Thomas. The Belmont OSCAR Centre is as great as it is thanks to Jo’s leadership and direction. She gets on with the task at hand, always with a positive attitude. She’s dedicated to her staff, kids, the center and the YMCA as a whole. She is always the first to offer to help others and has been a great support to many staff members across the organisation. Manager of the Year Award. The Manager of the Year award recognises the Manager (Program, Centre or support service) who shows outstanding management to not only their respective function (Program, Centre or Support Service) but to the good of the entire Organisation. This award went to Amy Moreland. The work she has done has been amazing and has created a ‘family’ culture for OSCAR and makes her staff feel heard and understood. Has connected her staff to feel part of the YMCA community and centre managers now work better as a team as a result of her efforts. Nothing is a problem to her and she makes us all feel proud of what we do. She lives all the Y values in and outside of work. She led the 100% compliance result in the recent MSD Audit. She has shifted the culture around safeguarding significantly as we want to be the leader in ensuring our tamariki cherished and has a result. Staff Member of the Year Award. This award needs no introduction and is voted by all YMCA peers. This year the award went to Deanna Holman. Deanna is an awesome person to work with, she is a humble, trusting person and full of kindness. She is always willing to go the extra bit to help anyone she can. Deanna puts in 110% everyday, continuously at camp past her normal working hours and always shows the YMCA values which rubs off onto others. She is seldom recognized for all the hard work she does, and really deserves this award. To close, Aside from successful capital and revenue growth We have had a very successful year in 2018 at a time where legislative changes have had a significant impact on our expenses. Much of this success is down to our amazing staff, management, board and volunteers Much of and challenges that we face as individuals and as an organisation, we managed to recognise the hard work that all our staff have helped us achieve. We must take a moment also to thank our funders and donors for their generous contributions to aide us with the work in the community and standing with us with our vision. Finally, a thank you to the board – Brendan Owens (CEO), Grant Baker (Board Chairman) and Rhys Barlow (Trust Chairman). We look forward to next year! For further information on YMCA Pillars and community impact, please see Annual report at; http://ymcawellington.org.nz/index.php/about/publications/ The post Annual Staff Awards & AGM appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • Pilmuir Accommodation Facelift 2019
      • Pilmuir Accommodation Facelift 2019 May 2, 2019/0 Comments/in Pilmuir /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_1276.jpg 1728 2592 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2019-05-02 21:53:102019-05-02 21:54:41Pilmuir Accommodation Facelift 2019Page 1 of 3123 The famous author JK Rowling once said ‘A good first impression can work wonders’. One thing our Pilmuir Accommodation building did not do well was first impressions. The building has been impeccably maintained internally with major works completed over the past few years such as fire safety upgrades, a new lift system installed and new roofs installed. The exterior walls, however, have always been cost prohibitive for us and thus the building has looked run down and in need of a facelift. Pilmuir accommodation is here for the long-term and we want our tenants to be proud of their home. The plan to give Pilmuir Accommodation a facelift had been on the cards for the past two years however, the project had been fraught with challenges. It would not just be a case of contracting in any old painter, there are 6 story concrete walls to contend with, sash windows in need of repair and the Wellington elements to contend with. After several proposals, we decided Highline Rope Access Wellington, who offered a great full solution service was the right company for us. The plan was to jet wash the building, replace a couple of broken windows, prime the surfaces, paint the walls, window frames and then install the new sign. Now we had a provider with a plan to carry out the work, we had to come up with the design. We wanted a smart look which would fit in with the surrounding buildings but have an iconic YMCA stamp. The simple red stripe out the front is complemented by light grey walls and a simple plain white YMCA logo which stands 30 cm off the building designed to give depth and definition in all weathers up close and far away. We have received great feedback from the local community with many people commenting on how great it looks. Our Pilmuir Accommodation tenants have also given the project the thumbs up with many of them commenting how it has injected life back into the place and is now somewhere they are proud to call home. The sides and back of the building are also scheduled to be completed next financial year and the remaining signage to be installed over the coming month. PreviousNext The post Pilmuir Accommodation Facelift 2019 appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • 10 Years At The YMCA!
      • 10 Years At The YMCA! April 5, 2019/0 Comments/in Targetted Health /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/54199212_1273622519453824_7329552464481353728_o.jpg 1266 2048 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2019-04-05 03:21:502019-04-05 03:21:5010 Years At The YMCA!Page 1 of 41234 YMCA Upper Hutt in its current form opened in 2006. Located on the former CIT (Central Institute of Technology) grounds our rec centre/ gym offers a plethora of programmes for the local community from group fitness, youth nights to Jumpstart our diabetes and healthy living management programme. Debbie has managed the gym since 2008, Upper Hutt born and bred Debbie has worked hard over the past eleven years to build a strong, genuine community rarely seen within the industry. It is for this reason that Debbie’s attrition rate sits at 1% whilst the industry standard is 9%. This year we start to celebrate a number of members achieving 10 continual years membership. Bryan first joined The YMCA on Willis Street in 1945 as a 12-year-old. This early incarnation of a YMCA rec centre was very basic focusing on general fitness, basketball and forming a community based upon Christian values. Bryan re-joined the YMCA in 2007. Between his YMCA stints, he had refereed rugby and had a long career in the New Zealand police. Bryan said he has always maintained a high level of fitness as it was required for his job. He joined the YMCA to maintain his fitness after he retired. Training five days a week with a strict routine of 30 minutes cardio followed by 30 minutes weights Bryan says the gym is not just about keeping fit, but it’s also social, he has made many friends over the years at YMCA upper Hutt whom he still trains with today. Ray is another member with a long relationship with The YMCA. First joining Buckfastleigh YMCA located in Devon, England back in 1950 aged 13 Ray says this YMCA was a male-only based community where young men would come together, play Billiards and socialise. Ray joined YMCA Upper Hutt 10 years ago with his wife Liz. Although he has had no YMCA affiliation between the two memberships he says the community values remain the same. Ray and Liz always train together and have made a number of friends over their time at YMCA Upper Hutt. Liz stated ‘Everyone here is almost like family’  they both attend to maintain their fitness, wellbeing and are constantly motivated by everyone else around them and the strong sense of community they get from YMCA. If you are interested in joining YMCA Upper Hutt we have a number of membership options available including our great value family membership, off-peak membership and casual passes for those not wanting to fully commit. The post 10 Years At The YMCA! appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • Schools Out For Summer!
      • Schools Out For Summer! March 4, 2019/0 Comments/in Kaitoke /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMG_0643-Good.jpg 864 1296 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2019-03-04 01:21:532019-03-11 03:41:45Schools Out For Summer! After a long year at school, all kids look forward to a long summer break. It’s a chance to relax, enjoy the hot weather and maybe even a family holiday. We at the YMCA believe there should be another tick on the summer to do list… attend summer camp! We have offered summer camps at Kaitoke Outdoor Education Centre for the past thirteen years. Whilst they do have a structure, the emphasis is not on education per se but recreational fun, engaging with other youth and developing skills you would not in a formal education setting. Many activities are offered such as kayaking, water slides, rock climbing,  cooking and high ropes. In the evening kids partake in campfires, toasting marshmallows games nights. Camp offers a screen-free zone, we believe it is important for kids to get time away from their personal technology, this allows them to become fully emerged in the camp experience without the pressure from the outside world looming in. For many children, a residential camp is often their first time away from home. This can create anxiety for children as well as their parents. Child safeguarding is The YMCA’s number one priority. At Kaitoke Outdoor Education centre we operate on a ratio of 1 staff to 10 children. All staff are trained in behaviour management, child protection and will be involved in our ongoing child safe training. We believe the key to the success of our summer camp is our staff. We take great pride in employing the best possible staff. Our team are all passionate outdoors people who live our values (honesty, respect, caring, and responsibility) and all have a plethora of outdoor education experience. Most of all they absolutely love camp! YMCA Greater Wellington offer various camps throughout the year during school holidays. Alongside these, we also offer Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver and Gold for our older campers. Keep an eye on our camp webpage for more details and follow us on Facebook/kaitokeoutdooreducationcentre The post Schools Out For Summer! appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • Celebrate The Special Times – Birthdays!
      • Celebrate The Special Times – Birthdays! February 18, 2019/0 Comments/in Wairarapa /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Party-Five.png 300 300 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2019-02-18 20:53:102019-03-11 03:42:36Celebrate The Special Times - Birthdays! At the YMCA we believe the good times and milestones should be celebrated. Kids grow up fast and as parents, we look for every opportunity to celebrate and spoil our children. Birthdays are the perfect excuse for a party and a reason to celebrate. As a child, a party is not just a celebration of growing a year older, but a time to see friends, receive gifts and eat cake. With all this excess it’s a great idea to include physical activity in the birthday. Not only will this burn off the over-consumption of delicious birthday food but, you will end up with tuckered out kids ready for an early night! We have worked to develop several birthday party packages at the YMCA in Upper Hut, Kaitoke Outdoor Education Centre and Masterton. We offer complete packages including catering if required all-in two-hour sessions. If you are interested in booking a birthday party with us or finding out more then click the links below, fill out your information and we will get back to you. INQUIRE ABOUT MASTERTON INQUIRE ABOUT UPPER HUTT INQUIRE ABOUT KAITOKE OUTDOOR EDUCATION CENTRE The post Celebrate The Special Times – Birthdays! appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • JumpStart 2019
      • 10 Years At The YMCA! April 5, 2019/0 Comments/in Targetted Health /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/54199212_1273622519453824_7329552464481353728_o.jpg 1266 2048 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2019-04-05 03:21:502019-04-05 03:21:5010 Years At The YMCA! Jumpstart is a lifestyle programme that takes a holistic approach to managing diabetes and its complications through nutritional advice, health, education, getting active, family and community involvement. Jumpstart is suitable for people from 15 years and up who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The programme is not just designed to last the 10 weeks and send students on their way, it is packed full of long-term resources such as a plate visually showing portion sizes, posters, booklets and a supportive community who all help hold each other accountable. The programme started back in 2014 as a collaboration with Pharmaco and YMCA. The programme has seen100’s of participants successfully complete the programme, increasing their fitness levels, losing weight, reducing or coming off medication, sleeping better and just overall feeling a lot better about their health! Emily has joined YMCA Wellington as our new Jumpstart coordinator for 2019. She studied a one of a kind bachelor’s degree in Wales which focused on how exercise and nutrition can help in the prevention of modern diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.  She has worked in the fitness industry since completing her degree and has worked with people of all ages. For the last 3 and a half years, she has run YMCA’s Jumpstart programme in Hamilton. Emily’s passion is in special populations; to help people with her knowledge, to help them move functionally, to overcome challenges through setting goals and make a positive difference in people’s lives. Emily comes highly qualified for this role with a plethora of qualifications including: BSc Sports Biomedicine & Nutrition Certificate in Personal Training Certificate in Fitness Instructing Skills Active Assessor Aqua Aerobics Instructor First Aid Certificate At Upper Hutt and across the country we have had some great results from our Jumpstart programme, we spoke to a couple of our graduates and got their take: Meet Rodney, he joined Jumpstart after some family members put the pressure on him to sign up. Rodney hadn’t been in the gym for over 40 years but after getting news that his HBA1C had climbed up to 44, he was happy to go along to improve the next set of blood test results at the Doctors. In the first week, he lost his workout card but found inspiration from a gentleman on the bike next to him who was the same age but very fit. He started to increase the resistance on the bike each week, as soon as he started to see results he was addicted. He had an old bike in the garage, dusted it off and took it to the beach house to make sure the good work wasn’t going to be undone! ‘Walking out the door from a workout feels great’’ Rodney’s wife jumped on board to help him, reading about diabetes and food. “I did what my wife told me to do, now I have low carb beers at the golf club, cut down on yellow food and started to enjoy salads! My HBA1C is now 38, I have lost 12kg, I feel healthier, sleep better and my golf has improved! It’s just like giving up cigarettes, you’ve just got to do it, you must take ownership’’ Meet Amina, after falling into a bad lifestyle and being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, she knew she had to do something and an online search lead her to Jumpstart. What have you learnt from Jumpstart? “I learnt so much from the programme and the people! It’s so hard to understand the information about diabetes when you search online. I now understand portion sizes and how important and effective exercise is in controlling your blood sugar levels” How has Jumpstart made a difference? “Before Jumpstart, I was so lethargic, I now feel fresh and way more active! I didn’t realise how much my weight gain had affected me. I lost 2.5kg whilst on Jumpstart and 5cm off my hips! Debbie and Helen’s encouragement kept me going (joining into classes) and they helped me believe in myself and to never say NO” If you are interested in joining Jumpstart our next course starts on February 11th at 6 pm. For more information, get in contact with Emily on 04 527 3380 or email her directly; emily@ymcawellington.org.nz The post JumpStart 2019 appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • Our Top 5 Group Fitness Classes To Kick Off 2019!
      • With an array of classes on offer all specifically designed to get the endorphins flowing, leave you feeling worked out and like you’ve earnt that glass of weekend wine we thought we would breakdown our top five to start your January off right! Coming in at number five we have Muscle Max, this full body weights-based workout is designed to get you toned, build muscle and create definition. Muscle Max uses your own body weight along with gym equipment. Resistance training is great for weight loss as it boosts your metabolism (studies suggest this boost can last up to 24 hours) with a faster metabolism you burn more calories which equates to better fat loss. Building muscle will also mean that you naturally burn more calories, win-win, right?! Number four we have Thai Box, based on Thai Boxing this non-contact 45-minute high-intensity workout will leave you sweating, gasping for that water bottle. Comprising of functional movements, boxing and kickboxing this workout will ship you into shape and defuse your frustration in no time. Boxing is not only great for cardiovascular fitness it is also great for general conditioning which transfers to your everyday life making you feel great! Pilates comes in at number Three. Great for your core, flexibility and strength, there are a plethora of health benefits from taking regular Pilates classes, these include but are not limited to the prevention of musculoskeletal injuries, improved posture, increased lung capacity and circulation through deep breathing, stress management and relaxation. Pilates is suitable for everyone from beginners to experts with each exercise focusing on form and breathing to get the best results. We offer four Pilates classes a week, so do not delay, sign up for your first class today! In at number two we have Spin, our classes have it all, we focus on strength, intervals, high intensity and recovery. This ride will take you up and over hills, round mountains and across deserts all within our group fitness room. Spinning not only burns heaps of calories (up to 620 an hour) it increases lung capacity. With our classes, you can set your own pace, start off slow and build faster, however always remember you only get out what you put in! Do not forget your water bottle and towel for this class, you will get sweaty! Our favourite class sitting at number one is Yoga, we offer two classes a week both suitable for complete beginners and experts alike. Yoga is our number one class as there are heaps of great health benefits, in fact, it’s like all the above rolled into one class! Yoga improves your flexibility, builds muscle strength, improves posture, ups your heart rate and helps with mental health and mind clarity. The benefits of yoga are honestly endless! Yoga has been around for thousands of years since Pre-Vedic India. It is now practised all over the world by an estimated 2 billion people! If you have never tried, sign up to a class and give it a go, it could be the best ‘yes’ you ever say! All our classes at YMCA Upper Hutt are available for casual one-off for non-members, however, members get full access to all classes included in the price of their membership. If you are interested in joining the gym, please check out our range of membership options online! The post Our Top 5 Group Fitness Classes To Kick Off 2019! appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • Wairarapa Whanau Day
      • Celebrate The Special Times – Birthdays! February 18, 2019/0 Comments/in Wairarapa /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Party-Five.png 300 300 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2019-02-18 20:53:102019-03-11 03:42:36Celebrate The Special Times - Birthdays! This past Saturday we held a Whanau Day at our Masterton centre. Over the past couple of months, we have given the centre a small refurb with new entrance signage, a hire space spruce up and developed our new programme ‘Kia Kaha Ake’. Saturday was focused around the idea of families with under 5’s coming to the centre, seeing what’s on offer and giving it a go! Throughout the day we had over 300 people through the doors all making use of the exploratory equipment, meeting new and old friends alike as well as enjoying a bouncy castle and sausage sizzle. Sport Wairarapa ran a Fun with Food & Nutrition workshop which was a huge success. Raise Up Crew Masterton also ran some awesome sports games. Sparkly Faces Face Painting was also on hand to offer face painting to all attendees! This was a great ending to 2018.  Kia Kaha Ake will be running through the January holidays Tuesday – Thursday 10.30 – 12.30 at $2 per child with all new term timetable to come. Dates for January are: 8.01.19 /10.01.19 15.01.19 /17.01.19 22.01.19 /24.01.19 29.01.19 /31.01.19 For more information please email Nicole@ymcawellington.org.nz A huge thank you goes out to Sport Wairarapa, Sparkly Faces Face Painting and Raise Up for making it a great day for all involved! The post Wairarapa Whanau Day appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • Trentham Gym Community Impact Report
      • 10 Years At The YMCA! April 5, 2019/0 Comments/in Targetted Health /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/54199212_1273622519453824_7329552464481353728_o.jpg 1266 2048 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2019-04-05 03:21:502019-04-05 03:21:5010 Years At The YMCA! We work hard to create impact in all we do at the YMCA. We have recently completed a Community Impact Report to see how we went during 2018 at our Trentham Community Gym. We are pleased to have a 29% increase in memberships for 2018. We are also sitting at a 91% retention rate with the industry standard being 60%. See the infographic below for an in-depth look at our report and how we are doing. Congratulations to Debbie and her team on making 2018 such a successful year and we look forward to 2019. The post Trentham Gym Community Impact Report appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • Kaitoke Outdoor Education Center Family Camp
      • Schools Out For Summer! March 4, 2019/0 Comments/in Kaitoke /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMG_0643-Good.jpg 864 1296 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2019-03-04 01:21:532019-03-11 03:41:45Schools Out For Summer! Kaitoke Outdoor Education Center (KOEC) is nestled within the Tararua Ranges a 45-minute journey from Wellington city. Set on twenty-eight acres, it looks out over the valley. With world-renowned tramping straight out the back and offering everything from kayaking to climbing, high ropes, orienteering and archery to name a few KOEC has it all. Since the 1930’s the YMCA has organised and ran family camps. Family Camp is a relaxing long weekend designed to bring families closer together by spending time recreating, eating delicious meals, catching up with old friends and making new ones. Mornings are spent partaking in activities like climbing, canoeing or simply lingering over a morning coffee in the sun. There is research to suggest that the time we spend recreating and eating as a family unit is on the decline. In modern society, we all lead increasingly busy lives. Data suggests that 30% of parents don’t spend any active time with their children, however, 57% of adults would like to spend more time taking part in sport and active leisure as a family. In New Zealand, 60% of adults and 25% of children are classified as overweight. We believe that we can help change these stats by offering programmes such as Family Camp to promote healthy living and family time. The above data reflects society as a whole from lower to upper socio-economic groups. We chose to make Family Camp a completely free product meaning applicants were not chosen based off any financial credentials. Instead, Family Camp was funded entirely by YMCA Greater Wellington. Planning of Family Camp began in June. Organising such an event presents many challenges. Jay Campbell, a senior leader at KOEC was given the task of organising the programme which entailed everything from creating application forms, collating pre/ post camp data and organising applicants. Being a Child Safe organisation every adult on site during the week had to undergo a police check. Working tirelessly to make Family Camp a success Jay developed an impressive schedule for the weekend to include campfire, BBQ, games, rock climbing and kayaking. Once applications were released it was not long until Jay’s inbox was full. As this was the first Family Camp ran by KOEC it was decided to work off a first come first served basis of applications. There was a great range of families apply from all over the Wellington region. Soon police checks were filed, pre-camp surveys filed out, waivers complete, bags packed and bodies ready for camp! During the week leading up the weather forecast was not looking great… come Friday it had been raining all week and looked like it would not let up, however, hope was held onto. Around 5 pm the first families started to arrive and were shown to their cabins. By 6 pm everyone had arrived. Due to the rain, Jay had organised a backup evening to include family games, dinner and social time. The evening went well with everybody eating, relaxing and managing to stay dry. Saturday morning camp awoke at 8 am to bright blue skies and mid-twenties temps. Family Camp was now in full swing! After a delicious breakfast everybody headed out for activities throughout the day, in the evening a buffet was put on followed by a games evening. Sunday played out in much the same way concluding with a BBQ lunch before everybody headed off around 3 pm. Post-camp we received some fantastic feedback from the participants. A lot of the attendees had stated their reasons for applying for Family Camp had been to spend more time as a family unit. When following up three weeks after Family Camp had finished several families had reported that they have spent more time together recreating and bonding as a family unit. Bian Jan said “The YMCA Family Camp is a totally awesome experience! I am quite an indoorsy person and lots of the activities were my first time. I love it! It helps me realize that I have great potential and discover other sides of me.  It also makes the bond between me and my daughter closer, while offering you opportunities to meet and connect with new people” YMCA Greater Wellington has recently acquired funding from The Wellington Community Trust to grow this programme in 2019. If you and your family are interested in attending a YMCA Greater Wellington Family Camp then get in touch with Jay via email at familycamp@ymcawellington.org.nz CLICK HERE TO APPLY The post Kaitoke Outdoor Education Center Family Camp appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • What’s More Kiwi Than Fish ‘N Chups & Karaoke?!
      • What’s More Kiwi Than Fish ‘N Chups & Karaoke?! November 29, 2018/0 Comments/in Pilmuir /by Joe KitchenhamRead more http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/IMG_0383.jpg 1728 2592 Joe Kitchenham http://ymcawellington.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/YMCA-NZ-logo-white-png.png Joe Kitchenham2018-11-29 23:07:392019-03-11 03:46:23What’s More Kiwi Than Fish ‘N Chups & Karaoke?! As part of their mission to build the community at Pilmuir House, the team puts on a quarterly fish ‘n chip night. This is a free evening for all tenants who are encouraged to come down to the common room socialise, eat and meet fellow residents. With the festive season upon us, this Wednesday was the Pilmuir House annual Christmas party. With the fish ‘n chips night being such a success they decided to run the same evening but with karaoke! To help pay for the karaoke machine a bucket with a suggested donation of $2 was placed at reception. MC for the evening would be Sheryl’s husband Dion. A legend on the mic and all round good guy in previous years has had to sing everything from Dolly Parton to Toto to fill the blank spaces. This year would be different… The evening started at 6:30 pm Josephine and Sheryl took the car over to The Y’s favourite fish ‘n chip shop Blue Island Seafoods to pick up enough portions of fresh fish, meat patties and sausages. The previous evening Sheryl had made her famous pasta salad and one tenant had donated six huge pavlovas and a freezer full of ice-cream for dessert. 7:00 pm and dinner was served, a great turn out of around 80 tenants came down for kai, which was more than anticipated! Soon after, an amazing turn out with belly’s full, the karaoke machine was switched on, mics checked, and the songs started to roll! First up we had Andrew a long-term tenant who also plays the Ukulele followed by our ‘Man Up’ group (These guys are a great bunch who come in once a week to talk about issues facing some of our male tenants and offer counselling). Soon after this, the requests started to roll, and the evening was underway. Throughout the evening people floated in and out with an average of 30 people in the room throughout the evening a good time was had by all. The closing song for the evening was … wait for it … you guess it – YMCA! This got the whole room up arms flailing, feet dancing and smiles all round. By 10.30 the evening was complete, karaoke packed away, leftovers wrapped and good nights were said. We had great feedback from all tenants who attended, all of which said they cannot wait until next years! A huge thanks to Josephine, Sheryl, Dion and everybody who attended making the evening a special one. Merry Christmas From YMCA Greater Wellington. The post What’s More Kiwi Than Fish ‘N Chups & Karaoke?! appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

    • Raise Up House of Horrors 2018
      • Raise Up was launched by YMCA Auckland back in 2012. The aim of Raise Up is to get youth into creating events and working on projects to benefit their local community. In the Wellington region, we have three crews each made up of a coordinator who works as the group’s organiser/mentor and a crew of between five and fifteen youth. Each crew will generally meet weekly to hang out, eat food and work on their upcoming events with the aim to have one large event a year and several smaller dispersed throughout.  Two weeks ago, Raise Up Upper Hutt held their annual House of Horrors event.  House of Horrors was first launched by the Upper Hutt crew in 2017. The event proved such a success that they decided to go ahead again in 2018. Running the event for a second year meant it  had to be bigger and better than the previous, therefore this years’ experience would see additional actors, props and four more rooms making a total of ten rooms these were to include strobe room, clowns, zombie alleyway, the tunnel, storage room, surgical theatre, the church,  haunted morgue, black graveyard and the sheet maze. Stephen, our Raise Up Upper Hutt coordinator started to plan the event with his crew at the beginning of July. When planning an event of this size, the biggest issue the crew face is securing funding. Stephen mentored his crew in applying for their own funding grants, writing sponsorship letters and meeting with officials. After many application forms being filled and letters written, they managed to secure $4,000 from the Cosmopolitan Club and Creative Community. Once funding was secured the crew were tasked with budgeting the whole project. Each member took on a leadership role be it booking the venue, booking security for the weekend, sourcing makeup, special effects or props. Throughout the sixteen weeks, it took to plan and execute the event many logistical challenges were met and overcome including finding enough actors to assist in the event. Members of the crew had the idea to call on local drama students and colleges to find students willing to spend the weekend scaring the local community. This, it turns out they were incredibly keen to do! The Raise Up programmes overarching aim is to make a positive impact on the local community. There are many ways of measuring our impact on the community and the crew. Our key measurement is our event turnout and enjoyment factor analysed by feedback. We received a lot of great comments on both evenings from youth who really enjoyed the haunted house and parents who stated they were pleasantly surprised at both how great the haunted house experience was, the professional setup and the attitude of all our actors and organisers. Throughout the Friday and Saturday night, we had a whopping 360 people from the local community through the doors. Each group, arrived, were briefed, made their way through the house and had their photo taken. If you missed this year’s House Of Horrors, don’t fear as we will be back next year even bigger! Raise Up is a completely free programme for youth aged 13 – 18. Most groups meet for one evening a week during term time. It’s fun, social and a great way to learn some invaluable life skills. If you or someone you know is interested in joining a Raise Up crew we have three in Greater Wellington including Upper Hutt, Porirua and Masterton flick us an email to get involved! The post Raise Up House of Horrors 2018 appeared first on YMCA Greater Wellington.

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