Pupils at Port Chalmers Kindergarten have been able to purchase a mobile work station/visual teaching aid thanks to a Mazda Foundation grant.

The $800 grant will be used to purchase the work station which will serve as a visual teaching aid. While all children will benefit from the equipment, it will specifically support two children with visual impairments.

“It is important for us to support the individual needs of our children and ensure inclusive education,” says Julie Peters, Head Teacher, Port Chalmers Kindergarten.

A grant to an outdoor pursuits centre in South Canterbury will enable more young people to participate in river safety training.

Peel Forest’s $3,819 grant will be used to purchase a raft for the river safety education programme for intermediate students.

“Year 7 and 8 students are a crucial age group for river safety education,” says Robyn Murch, Funding Officer for Peel Forest. “Drowning is the third highest cause of accidental death in this country according to Water Safety New Zealand statistics and this grant will go a long way towards educating our young people about being safe out on the water.”

Peel Forest runs a series of programmes which are all designed to help young people to experience, learn and grow their potential through outdoor pursuits activities.

The organisation’s river safety programme blends theory with practical based sessions and teaches students to identify river hazards and features and ways of dealing with these hazards. Practical training covers a range of river situations including swimming, kayaking, rafting and river crossing.

The SPCA Auckland received funding to the tune of $7,600 to assist in the redevelopment of the organisation’s website. The funds will enable the site with Web 2.0 capability bring greater interactivity online between the SPCA and its supporters.

Jeanine Gribbin, Fundraising Manager for the SPCA Auckland, says the website is a crucial tool enabling the organisation to reach out and engage with its supporters.

“Online marketing is playing an increasing role for charitable organisations and by upgrading our website we will be able to facilitate two way communications with our supporters, particularly young people, which is part of our wider education strategy,” says Gribbin.

The new website will allow young people to learn more about animals and the SPCA in a fun way through stories, images and videos. The organisation is also currently developing its social media capabilities.

SPCA Auckland’s new-look website (www.spca.org.nz) will be re-launched early next year.

Dawson Primary School’s grant will support the ‘Grow, Cook and Eat’ programme which teaches students how to grow and prepare fresh produce.

The $2,046 grant will be used to construct two large vegetable gardens and purchase soil and seeds. Students in years four to six will plant a range of vegetables which will be harvested and prepared for school lunches at a new purpose-built kitchen which is currently being constructed.

“We believe the new garden will be an innovative way to incorporate environmental education into the curriculum and educate children about healthy eating and maintaining our resources,” says Deborah Davies, a teacher at Dawson Primary School. “Learning to produce food has immediate and long-term effects for children and their families.”

The staff at Dawson Primary School are passionate about environmental education and already involve students in maintaining worm farms, rain water collection tanks, compost bins and organic gardens and fruit trees.

Around 140 children and young adults with disabilities will soon be enjoying the therapeutic benefits of horse riding thanks to a $6,000 grant made to Hamilton Group Riding for the Disabled.

The funds will be used to resurface the riding arena on Pukete Road which has compacted due to heavy use and has caused lameness problems in some of the horses. This issue has also caused flooding in wet weather while making it extremely dusty in drier periods which affects both the horses and riders with breathing related conditions.

“We have around 30 riders participating in our programme each day and it’s vital that we provide them with a safe riding environment. This grant will go a long way to protecting both the riders and our horses as well,” says Patricia Strang, Treasurer for the Hamilton Group Riding for the Disabled.

The Hamilton organisation is one of 54 members of the New Zealand Riding for the Disabled Association. The group provides horse riding for the disabled community for therapeutic, educational and recreational purposes.

A $5,000 grant made to the South Auckland Health Foundation will contribute to the establishment of an ongoing fund to secure the future health of the children at Kidz First Children’s Hospital at Middlemore.

The Foundation hopes to raise $1 million for the fund which will support 115,000 children under the age of 15 who use the service. The hospital has been providing services for children with ongoing chronic illnesses for 10 years. It also offers some regional dedicated services such as orthopaedics and plastic reconstructive surgery and a national service for children with severe burns.

To celebrate the grant, the Mazda Foundation has received a brick in the Kidz First Healing Garden. The garden is a quiet space for both children and their families to use at the hospital.

The South Auckland Health Foundation is a charitable trust which raises funds for the Counties Manukau District Health Board and Kidz First Children’s Hospital.

A $3,500 grant to Tirohia School in Paeroa is music to the students’ ears. The funds will be used to purchase three keyboards and accessories for the school’s music programme.

Tirohia School currently runs an elective programme where students can choose to learn the keyboard. A music teacher visits the school each week bringing with her keyboards borrowed from the local church.

The teacher has noticed how much the students have benefitted from the lessons. They’ve not only developed their music skills but their concentration and co-ordination also.

“Our keyboard programme not only provides students with enjoyment but also helps them develop new skills. Most students don’t have access to keyboards at home so this grant will help significantly in providing new opportunities,” says Rachel Barker, Tirohia School. “It will also mean we can offer more formal one-on-one keyboard tuition to our students.”

The First Tee New Zealand will be able to teach children life skills and develop their self esteem with its $4,000 grant.

The organisation does this through providing ‘Golferships’ (golfing scholarships) to financially disadvantaged children. The First Tee believes the principles on which golf is based also promote character development and life values such as patience and commitment in an interactive and fun environment.

Philippa King, Executive Director of The First Tee New Zealand, says the organisation works to help New Zealand children grow toward their potential of being productive, fulfilled adults who will make a contribution to society.

The First Tee classes improve children’s confidence, social and communication skills and attitude towards responsibility, while also teaching them how to play golf.

The First Tee was established in the United States in 1997 and since then 3.5 million children have participated in its programmes worldwide in Canada, England, Ireland, Singapore and New Zealand since 2005.

Hamilton teenager Oliver Posa, 13, will soon be enjoying the sport of hand-cycling thanks to the Mazda Foundation. Oliver received a $1,875 grant to purchase a specialised hand-cycle.

Although Oliver was born with Spina Bifida and relies on a wheelchair for mobility,he hasn’t let it stop him from enjoying sports. He has participated in the Waikato Independence Games in track and field events for a number of years and also plays wheelchair basketball.

The hand-cycle will further expand his sporting achievements, enable him to enjoy regular physical activity and maintain his upper body strength says his father, Mike Posa.

“A hand-cycle would enable Oliver to benefit from more physical activity and improve his self-esteem by allowing him to participate in cycling-related outings with his able-bodied peers and family,” he says.

Hand-cycling is an elite world level sport at the Paralympics and has its own World Championships. Parafed Waikato already has two members representing New Zealand at the World Championships in Canada in 2010.

A grant to Edmonton Primary School in Te Atatu, Auckland was music to its students’ ears. The school received $780 to purchase 20 ukuleles for its ukulele music group.

Edmonton Primary hopes the new ukuleles will encourage its pupils to develop an appreciation for the arts and enhance their creativity.

“We believe that experience in the arts during schooling provides individuals with the necessary skills, confidence and joy to continue to practice arts throughout their lives,” says Kathy McCarthy, Edmonton Primary School.

Mazda Foundation trustee and ex-Edmonton School pupil Connie Miller was excited to revisit her old school to present the cheque.

“It was fantastic to be able to assist the school’s music department as well as come back and see how much the grounds had changed!” says Miller.

The ukulele group are now attending weekly music lessons and plan to perform with their new instruments at the school Christmas show and at the 2011 New Zealand Ukulele Festival.