Cornerstone Charitable Trust

WHO ARE WE

We are a not-for-profit organization serving the communities of Rotorua and Takiwira, and we are on a mission to help the vulnerable children of these communities and enhance their lives! It is no secret that children living in challenging home environments are susceptible to poverty, lack of nutritious foods and suffer difficulty maintaining a good education. As we live in these communities, we have seen firsthand the struggles of some families, as well as the lack of easily accessible and free services that could help them to thrive at school and in life. That is why we at Cornerstone Charitable Trust are aiming to beat child poverty and give children the opportunities they need to lead healthy and fulfilling childhoods.

OUR MISSION

Cornerstone Charitable Trust aims to improve the overall wellbeing of our communities, and we plan to provide free breakfast clubs and community vegetable gardens in both districts (Rotorua and Takiwira). We aim to provide a healthy and nutritious breakfast for tamariki before they go to school (Oranga/Manaakitanga) and then provide a service to drop them off at school.

Our breakfast clubs can be accessed by all whanau (whanaungatanga) within our communities. Currently, in New Zealand there are Before School programs for children but parents have to pay for this service and they must be working. Cornerstone Charitable Trust wants our breakfast clubs to be accessible to all tamariki within Rotorua me Takiwira.

Not only that we want our tamariki and whanau to be involved in our 'garden box' (mara kai) project whereby our staff will share our own gardening knowledge, and encourage a hands-on learning approach, which will allow our tamariki to plant, grow and harvest the crops themselves. We hope to provide free planter boxes, tools and seeds to whanau to enable them all the tools and skills they need to continue their own gardens at home (Rangatiratanga). This service will be available to anyone who would like to participate and benefit from it, with a strong focus on the harvested vegetables going to whanau/families struggling to meet their basic necessities each week and donating some to the 'pataka cupboards' within our communities. As part of our 'pouaka mara kai (garden boxes) we will teach our tamariki about self - enterprise from the seed (conception), to nurturing (manaakitanga), growth (whakapiri/whakaputa) to harvesting (hauheke). This concept can be translated to other areas of their lives of self- enterprise. Tino Rangatiratanga. There will also be an opportunity to integrate and implement Mataariki to growing vegetables and exploring organic ranges of fertilizing our mara kai.

We believe these activities are well and truly needed in these communities and so many tamariki and whanau can benefit from them! Help us make this a reality! All funds will go towards the gardens and breakfast clubs operating costs.. and to hold enough stock so no one misses out.