At Springboard we create opportunities for young people to achieve positive outcomes and choose pathways to success.
We focus on personal wellbeing by creating a place of belonging, acceptance and engaging whānau and the wider community. We’ve been providing wrap-around support programmes for over 20 years, seeing young people thrive against all odds.
Springboard is a not-for-profit organisation, and registered NZ Charity.
a tātou rangatahi, a tātou taonga
Established in 2002 as a farming education programme, we’ve had the privilege of walking alongside some of our community’s most vulnerable young people.
From the Warkworth Scout Hall, to Port Albert and Snells Beach, we have been consistently immersed in the communities of Rodney as we support young people to thrive.
All rangatahi deserve someone standing in their corner, believing in them and championing them to a bright future. Unfortunately not all rangatahi have that. For some, finding their place and keeping hope alive is a real challenge.
Anchored by our faith in God, and led by our values, we believe that every young person has great potential and wonderful gifts, and we have the privilege of playing a part in drawing those gifts out.
We are part of a network supporting young people to find success. Alongside schools, police, businesses and community we mentor young people through arguably the toughest transitional stage of their lives: teenage years to adulthood.
Our young people are the heroes, brave and capable. Until they are in a place to acknowledge that for themselves, we walk with them, championing and challenging them to be the best version of themselves that they can be.
Sergeant Mark Stallworthy
NZ Police, Officer in Charge, Warkworth
What Springboard achieves within our community is nothing short of outstanding. This model is simple but very effective and should be introduced nationwide.
Ultimately it’s the people at Springboard that make it so successful. They are all so passionate and truly believe that they can make a difference in people’s lives. I have seen youth crime continue to fall in the Warkworth area.
I put this directly down to the work that Springboard does. I have watched as the organisation has grown from strength to strength. They have my full respect, support and endorsement.
At Springboard, we believe that every young person needs a place to be and a place to go.
We create an environment that reflects whānau, a place where our rangatahi can just be. Be themselves, be loved, belong. A place where they feel safe, seen and heard. A place where they can be vulnerable and not be judged. A place where they can be encouraged and challenged.
When our rangatahi understand they have a place to be, and as they learn new skills and discover their purpose, they find the freedom to start dreaming of the places they can go.
Our programmes are simply ways for us to engage with young people, whānau and the community. At the core of everything we do is mentoring; and our relationships with our young people hinge on our Theory of Change: young people regularly connecting with positive role models over a period of time, within a context of belonging and purposed experience, creates change.