Auckland Airport and FYD grow great Kiwi kids together

Auckland Airport and FYD grow great Kiwi kids together

Auckland Airport today handed over the final instalment of a total $59,000 donation to the Foundation for Youth Development (FYD).

The money was raised through a unique auction held by Auckland Airport in April which saw pieces of the Airport’s 30 year old Solari board flight displays up for sale on Trade-me.

The majority of the proceeds from the Auckland Airport Solari board auction was presented to FYD in May and has been used to directly support the foundation’s programmes in the South Auckland region, helping kids in this community to discover possibility and creating a youth population with a positive outlook and eyes open to the future.

Charles Spillane, Auckland Airport general manager corporate affairs, says he was delighted with the final outcome of the auction and the significant public interest it generated. “We recently received the final payments from the auction and have now presented FYD with the total sum raised – a substantial figure of $59,000.”

“It is very rewarding to see the great work that FYD is doing in South Auckland with the money we donated. We are also grateful that the auction attracted a lot of public interest and helped raise awareness of the fantastic work that FYD does. And we have also received some fantastic feedback from happy customers who have purchased the flight displays and are delighted with this memorabilia!”

Graeme Dingle, co- founder of Foundation for Youth Development says “FYD seeks to invest in communities in a sustainable manner through our proven programmes - Kiwi Can, Stars, Project K and MYND and directly impacts almost 6,000 young people in Manurewa alone and we are investing over $2,000,000 into this community each year”.

“FYD is currently represented in 15 schools in South Auckland encompassing our three school based programmes – Kiwi Can, Stars and Project K. The funds support the on-going development and refinement of our FYD programmes and the on-going training of key programme personnel within the South Auckland community. It has assisted with the production of programme material for students to participate in our FYD school based programmes including manuals, logbooks and Kiwi Can uniforms,” continues Mr. Dingle.

“FYD has a robust research and evaluation team that works in partnership with universities. Access to on-going funding supports our team to uncover remarkable research and evaluation findings and further refine our programmes to ensure their relevancy and value for future generations.”

Marion Short, FYD CEO says, “Research shows that our FYD programmes get long-term results and assist young people to discover possibility and develop valuable life skills, such as problem solving and decision making skills. It helps to create a motivated and engaged youth population. If we can work together to ensure that our youth are successful, then we as a country will be successful”.

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Kate Thompson
+64 21 385 446

Foundation for Youth Development (FYD)

Foundation for Youth Development is a not-for-profit organisation founded by Graeme Dingle and Jo-anne Wilkinson and is a leader in the field of youth development in New Zealand.

FYD provides young people with the opportunity to build self-confidence and learn valuable life skills by participating in unique development programmes from the time they start primary school through to the end of high school.

Through FYD’s current programmes – Kiwi Can, Stars, Project K and MYND – they help 18,000 young people each year to be confident, healthy individuals who contribute positively to society. www.fyd.org.nz