On behalf of our Zeal team, we want to celebrate and thank you for helping to make 2023 an epic year!This has been one of Zeal’s biggest years of impact. Whether you helped to fund our programmes, attended Zeal yourself or supported as a parent, teacher or friend, we thank you for making 2023 one to remember.
Some of our highlights from the year
- After a huge 5 weeks on air, Matty McLean won Celebrity Treasure Island Fans vs Favs and donated a total of 60k to Zeal.A huge thank you to Matty for his support and advocacy for young people in Aotearoa.
- This year 354 young people shared their experience in Zeal's annual survey, making this year's survey the biggest one ever. A special standout was 95% of young people say Zeal has had a positive impact on them.
- Zeal Taranaki hosted their annual event, Empowering Young Leaders’ Day. 300 young people attended, and both days included speakers, music, dance acts, special guests from other organisations, games, competitions and rangatahi sharing their experiences about Zeal and what it’s like growing up as a young person in today’s society.
- Zeal West organized a successful event with The Western Initiative, Ranui 135, and E Tipu E Rea to encourage our community to speak out against the Auckland Council’s impending budget cuts, resulting in 140 young people submitting their opinions.
- In the month of August, we competed for a share of $100,000 through One Good Kiwi. A massive thank you to those who voted for Zeal, you helped us win a total of $21,264.69. A huge thanks to One New Zealand for the epic opportunity to make a significant impact on young people.
A story of inspiration
Six years ago, 13 year old Jane first came to Zeal West through our photography programme. She was struggling in school, dealing with self-harm and was surrounded by negative influences. Over time, Jane slowly started engaging in Afternoon Hangs, where she would build strong connections with the youth workers of Zeal West at the time. With the support of the youth team, she found comfort in sharing her journey and what difficulties she had been facing. From this, we were able to guide her through different services and conversations to remove the things that negatively impacted her and help build her growth. Jane very quickly became a core young person in our centre. She participated in our Level Up programme, where she learnt barista, sound and lighting and many other leadership skills. She even went on to teach our photography programme and host her own gallery night. Jane’s inspiring story is the epitome of what we do here at Zeal West. She’s journeyed with our team and continues to give back to our centre through acts of service. We are very proud of Jane and her growth.
