This Christmas, as the Play CoLab practice heads into its 6th year, and 40th group of leaders, we are paying forward our good fortune to another organisation that works with a similar number of groups but at the other end of the food chain. If our work is essentially about systems change, we wanted to support an organisation at the coalface of addressing some of our most urgent social issues and thus we have chosen to give $50 per group (i.e $2000) to Te Whānau Rangimarie Trust. The CEO who has been with TWR for the last 16 years Aneta Rangirangi, whose nanna started the work and called her into service, is amongst our alumni.
Te Whānau Rangimarie Trust was established in 1980 to address the issue of family violence from within the community by working with both the victims/survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence. The Trust provides a number of services including education courses, family violence programmes, social work advocacy and support, whānau support, women’s safe house, transitional housing and a programme delivered in Mt Eden Prison. The small team delivering these alternative approaches to mainstream support services work tirelessly and adaptively to not only address issues in the short-term but change patterns in the system for the long term. Their approaches have been approved by The Ministry of Justice, Courts and MSD/ Oranga Tamariki. This is not only about immediate support and safety but supporting positive life changes so families may live violence free and to eliminate violence for the next generation.
Our donation to the Trust will be split by family and delivered by way of food and other vouchers.
Thank you for being part of Play CoLab and for allowing us to realise this form of social connectivity this Christmas.
And once again, thank you for your continued support of the work we serve. As we all head towards the end of the year and the start of another, we hope you are able to create some space to take some time for you – ideally some time that is more heavily weighted to enjoying just “being” as opposed to more “doing”.
Arohanui to you and your loved ones.
Sandy, Jenny, Jenna, and all at Play CoLab