Graeme Dingle Foundation looking for help to buy a van for Te Puke

The Graeme Dingle Foundation is looking for something bigger than a hatchback to transport Te Puke's rangatahi (young people) around the district.

With its various programmes, the Graeme Dingle Foundation will next year reach more than 900 young people in and around Te Puke.

While many of those will be experiencing Kiwi Can, the programme teaching values such as integrity and respect and helping build resilience, in their schools, older students will be going beyond the classroom.

The foundation is hoping to buy a 12 seater van to provide a means to get those on its rangatahi programmes to where they need to be and is looking for assistance from the community.

Students on the Project K and Career Navigator programmes will benefit most.

Project K is a programme that involves a wilderness adventure, mentoring and community challenges. It was run in Te Puke for the first time this year.

Career Navigator is a school based, ready for work, programme that supports schools to help students.

''On our rangatahi programmes there will probably be around 80-90 young people and we will be transporting young people to different events and industry visits through our Career Navigator programme, as well as community projects - there's a lot of events that we do during the year,'' says the foundation's Bay of Plenty manager Dan Allen-Gordon.

The Career Navigation programme will be run for the first time in Te Puke next year.

There will be a core group of about 25 Year 12 students, with a wider group of another 50. The programme is aimed at students in Year 11 upwards.

Dan says the foundation is looking at a van that will cost around $60,000. In terms of fundraising for the van, the foundation is starting from scratch.

Anyone who might be able to help can contact Dan by email at dan.allen-gordon@dinglefoundation.org.nz or by phone on 021 992 613.

There is also a givealittle page: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/weneedwheels.