Youth Encounter going down crowdfunding route to expand programmes

Mary and Joel Wanhill are behind the Paengaroa-based Youth Encounter Trust.

Aiming to help more local young people, Paengaroa-based Youth Encounter Trust is looking to a crowdfunding initiative to raise additional funds.

The Funding Network NZ has chosen the trust to be part of its Generosity Generator crowdfunding initiative.

The initiative provides grassroots charities with information on the essentials of crowdfunding and then provides a chance to put those newly acquired skills into practice to raise funds in a 12-day campaign on Givealittle.

Trust members have been attending training workshops and the campaign is now live on Givealittle.

Mary Wanhill, who founded the trust with husband Joel, says the trust has a fundraising target of $30,000 that will be used to build another stand-alone, multi-purpose room.

“What we have felt as being one of the biggest needs we have now is needing more spaces to utilise for the sessions with our young people,” she says.

“So many young people are lacking the skills to effectively contribute to society so we are creating more spaces at Youth Encounter for them to develop social, life and work readiness skills to play their part in making Aotearoa New Zealand a great place to thrive.”

Mary says one of the things the trust has found is that young people often lack the skills to contribute and participate in society.

Existing programmes include a focus on social skills.

“We have done that really well and we are integrating more life skills into [the programmes] but we are also moving into work readiness skills,” says Mary.

“Research and statistics that are coming through are showing us there’s a real need in this area - there’s a real lacking of young people coming through ready to step into employment.

“We know it’s more than a young person doing a course or training. Other things underpin that, it’s their holistic wellbeing that makes for that ongoing success.”

An additional building will help the trust have more people on site at one time.

It will also provide a place for young people who may have social anxiety to be away from the business of the main building and will be a quiet place to hold small staff meetings.

“We need the help of the wider community to donate to our campaign for a new space so we can continue to make a difference in the lives of the youth in our community.”

Mary says the philosophy of the trust has always been to be like salt.

“Salt enhances the flavour so we want to, not come in and change the flavour of our community, but rather enhancing the flavour - enhancing the good in it.”

She says the idea of utilising crowdfunding is a way of tapping into another funding stream.

“We’ve got some incredible supporters and donors and so this is about tapping into a different arena to bring more in to be able to fund [the work].”