Life Education Trust needs more public support

An organisation that helps Kiwi schoolchildren deal with major issues including mental health, obesity, bullying, and vaping is asking the public to support its work.

Life Education Trust Counties Manukau offers programmes in about 80 schools in east and south Auckland, its fundraiser Kelvin Ricketts says.

“We rely on sponsorship. It can be cash, goods or services, and anything we can turn into cash.

“Howick is probably our biggest region in terms of kids, but we get the least sponsorship here.

“If not for the Howick Local Board we’d probably get nothing out of this area at all.”

Ricketts says the organisation has operating costs of close to $700,000 annually and it works with about 28,000 to 30,000 school pupils each year.

“The schools invite us in and we focus on years 0 to eight. It’s based on mental health and well-being, obesity, bullying both online and in physical form, and substance use.

“We’ve got kids in south Auckland and in this area who are seven years old and vaping daily.

“There’s a huge issue out there. Our educators are called in by a school and they go and sit down with the principal or dean of that year and go through about 60 questions to identify what issues the school will need support with.

“They go away and create a programme to suit that school’s needs. That programme is then implemented with normally about 40 kids a day.”

Ricketts says schools pay the organisation $320 a day and most of the schools it works with invite it back on a regular basis.

The money Life Education Trust raises goes to programme delivery, he says.

“The money we get from schools covers $9 per child but our cost is close to $29 per child, so we have to find the other $20.

“We have to do fundraising applications, lotteries, benefactors and gaming trusts.

“It would be fantastic to receive support from businesses or any philanthropic-minded individual, and if they want to remain anonymous that’s fine.

“Their naming can go onto our mobile classrooms, and online on our website and social media. We do say ‘thank you’ so we recognise our sponsors.

“We also have the Harold Club where people can make regular donations.

“We don’t take Government donations because we want to be in control of our own destiny, but Life Education Trust has become a go-to for Government and other people to ask about issues.”

• People interested in supporting the work of Life Education Trust Counties Manukau can phone Kelvin Ricketts on 021 612 984 or email kelvin.ricketts@lifeed.org.nz.