2015 ANNUAL REPORT
WHAT WE DID IN 2015. Total Events
Total Number of young people reached Online reach Total Pathway students Volunteers After school hangs
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THE DICTIONARY DEFINES ZEAL ... ... as “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.” That, in a nutshell, is what we at Zeal are all about.
Brook and the Zeal team are ruthlessly passionate about enabling young people to thrive using the creative arts as a vehicle. Everybody is treated as an equal and made to feel welcome in Zeal’s intentional communities. They give places of belonging to those that society often ignores or leaves in the “too hard” basket. Is the job easy? No. But, at Zeal, we do not shy away from hard work. We are committed to success. And, for us, that means a life changed, hope given and restoration of self. Wrapped in all this, however, is the need to be effective and measurable. Anecdotal stories are what fill our hearts but we also have to know that what we do is based on the best evidence and makes real, life-long change. At
Zeal we know that what we do really works. Sustainability is also key. Creating environments that not only embrace our young people but also succeed in an investment sense, fuelling Zeal’s ability to help more. Zeal’s drive in the social enterprise sector is a wonderfully bold example of this. It is important to acknowledge the incredible staff and volunteers at Zeal. They really are the best of the best. Our board is also driven to govern Zeal with integrity and we make sure every dollar raised reaches as far as it can. Next year will be a challenge. Only because there’s so much to do and we are not prepared to reduce our pace of impact. Watch this space—Zeal will change the youth culture of Aotearoa. Bruce Pilbrow Zeal Chairman
ZEAL BELIEVES ... ... that every young person, regardless of background, education or ethnicity, has a creative spark, a unique mark that they can make on the world.
I get the privilege of witnessing new creative sparks every day at Zeal. Whether it’s the story of Rachel (right), the singer songwriter playing her first public gig, the photography student using a portrait project for advocacy or the barista intern getting their first job in
one of our cafés, our Zeal staff and volunteers do an incredible job of revealing the unique value of each individual. In 2015 we opened two social enterprise cafés, launched street youth workers in central Wellington, opened our third youth facility in Hamilton and establish our west Auckland creative pathways partnership with local high schools. Zeal has continued to deliver a wide variety of services including U18 events,
creative pathways, street youth work, online youth work and social enterprise ventures. Sometimes we do so much we hardly stop to appreciate it all but that is exactly what this annual report is about. So please join us in celebrating the stories of Aotearoa’s young people shining. Don’t just skim the pages but remember that every number is a young person’s life being impacted. And this impact is always best described in a story. I wish we had room to share them all but I’ll leave you with one of my favourites about a girl we will call Rachel. It really exemplifies the work we do at Zeal. Enjoy. Thank you for your support.
Brook Turner Zeal CEO
Rachel (16) had heard Zeal was a safe place and had been struggling in her social group at school so gave Zeal (Wellington) a try. After a short few weeks, Rachel found a place of belonging at Zeal and felt she was able to disclose her battle with anxiety and depression for the first time. After connecting Rachel with support services, Zeal youth workers encouraged her to explore her creative passions with us. So she enrolled in Zeal’s photography pathway. She had always wanted to learn to use a camera. Unfortunately, five weeks into attending the course, Rachel overdosed on her meds and ended up in hospital. So Zeal’s whole class of photography students along with the tutor (youth worker) visited Rachel in hospital, letting her know her value extended beyond our programmes and facility. Over the next four weeks Zeal’s photography tutor taught Rachel at the hospital to ensure she didn’t fall behind. Several weeks later, Rachel stood in a professional gallery in Wellington displaying her work and speaking about her unique and courageous journey. She exclaimed, “Photography is the one thing that gives me hope.”
THE NEED
23 per cent of students
are truant from school at least one day each year. 5
WEST AUCKLAND 2015 was my first year as manager of Zeal West Auckland. Over that time we’ve hosted some great events like our Summer Slams Festival and US band Yellow Card packing out the venue.
In May we had 10 students displaying their art at our “Capturing Youth” photography exhibition at Te Uru Gallery in Titirangi. It had great reviews and some of the young people even picked up photography work from the exhibition. Our Gateway programme doubled with 30 students from local high schools learning sound and tech, art design, event manage-
ment and photography at Zeal. They were all able to apply their new talents by promoting and producing two events: the Zeal West Ball and the Zeal Birthday Party. Our street youth work kicked off late 2014 and, as a result, last year there was a real change in the atmosphere of downtown Henderson and we have had a lot of new young people attend Zeal because of the connections the street youth workers have created. A key moment we had this year was when we addressed a growing gang culture amongst Henderson youth. We sat down with them and talked about making better choices and
JP Puleitu
Zeal West Centre Manager
OUR RESPONSE
what we can do for them. They suggested they’d like opportunities to get out of their potentially negative environments so we did beach trips and afternoon drives to swimming holes. It was a great example of young people coming up with solutions to their own struggles and us enabling it.
--- WAITING ON PORTIA CONTENT --- (Beth supplying) . Need photo too.
Zeal West event attendees
6094 Events
64
Young people in development pathways
151
Development pathway programmes
26
Hi, I’m Portia.
Zeal West Auckland is located at 20 Alderman Drive, Henderson. It has a 120m2 cafe, 200m2 performance venue, recording studio, four rehearsal rooms and design/art suite.
HAMILTON
It’s always a special moment in Zeal’s story when we open another venue. In 2015 it was Hamilton’s turn to take a dream and make it a reality.
On Wednesday 18 March about 200 people filled the brand new central city facility for our formal launch of Zeal Hamilton. This moment represented years of hard work from our Zeal Hamilton team and an incredible contribu-
tion from the local community.
Since this opening celebration we’ve hosted many great events including album release concerts of local bands, acoustic fundraisers run by teenagers, multi-cultural experiences and art exhibitions displaying the work of young people. The after school hangs have been steadily growing with more and more Hamilton young
With a start like this, 2016 is set to be an exciting year.
OUR RESPONSE
people finding an after school home at Zeal, culminating in Zeal Hamilton’s first youth camp during the school holidays. Local bands have been utilising the rehearsal and performance spaces and we launched four development pathway programmes in contemporary painting, photography, barista and sound and tech.
Hi, I’m Danielle. Before discovering Zeal Hamilton, Danielle was an aspiring singer-songwriter with nowhere to play. She had dreamt of a Zeal opening in her town but when it finally happened she was too scared to approach the team. Finally she mustered the courage and since then has run three acoustic shows and is taking part in a Zeal youth work internship in 2016.
Young people attending Zeal Hamilton events
2800 Events
23
Young people in development pathways
15
Development pathway programmes
4
Zeal Hamilton is located at 9 Ward Lane. It has a 120m2 cafe, 200m2 performance venue, recording studio, four rehearsal rooms and design/art suite.
WELLINGTON In 2015 we averaged at least one event every week and our team has grown with four interns and five staff. We’re also extending our development pathways to include dance and graphic design.
A key highlight for us was our Photography Pathway in 2015, which was attended by a handful of recently arrived Syrian teens. It’s easy for all young people to lose their voice, but especially those from a refugee, non-English-speaking background. So teenaged refugees photography, (aged 13-17) found a new being hands on, home in Aotearoa last year. 1 provides a perfect
THE NEED
99
means of expression and creates a non-threatening gateway into the Zeal community. We have also launched street youth work in response to recent murders in the central city. Targeting problem times on Friday nights (8pm to 1am) we have four youth workers (two pairs) roaming the streets reaching young people on their turf. They have really invited us into their world and we are also able to send them up to our events at Zeal. So it serves a double purpose. James & Jenna Harris Zeal Wellington Centre Managers
My name is Aisha. I’m 17 years old and I am from Syria. I have been living in Wellington for one year. Last year I did the photography course at Zeal. I really enjoyed my time. I loved learning photography! The Zeal staff are good people and very welcoming. They treated us like brothers and sisters. I am excited because now I am going to learn guitar at Zeal! Aisha took part in Zeal’s Introduction to Photography holiday programme, which was attended by a group of newly arrived Syrian refugee young people.
OUR RESPONSE
Hi, I’m Aisha.
Young people attending Zeal Welly
6968 Events
55
Young people in development pathways
414
Development pathway programmes
65
Zeal Wellington is located at Level 1, 103 Ghuznee Street. It has a 120m2 cafe, 200m2 performance venue, recording studio, four rehearsal rooms and design/art suite.
HAWKE’S BAY Zeal HB has been operating since July 2015 after it merged with Atomic Youth Trust, which had been doing similar work in Hawke’s Bay for 13 years. We saw this as an awesome opportunity to grow what we were already doing in the Bay and really engage with more young people.
Aside from our dance studio which attracts 120 young people each week for hip hop dance lessons, Zeal HB is fully mobile. We operate out of refurbished shipping containers, run events at various venues around the district and go to the places where young people are. From July to December 2015 we held 10 events which were attended by more than
3300 young people, featuring over 80 young bands, artists, dance crews and soloists. We have wonderful relationships with Napier and Hastings councils and are continuing to pursue options for more permanent places of belonging for young people. In the mean time we are growing our volunteer base and support infrastructure for the work we are doing while still producing high quality events and mobile services. Stay tuned for plenty more from Zeal HB in 2016! Mark Wilson
Zeal HB Centre Manager
KāPITI
Late 2014 I got a phone call from Brook (Zeal CEO) saying, “Hey, Zeal Kāpiti might be happening, if it is, are you keen?” With a background in youth work on the Kāpiti Coast, I jumped at the opportunity and a year later here we are contracted to Kāpiti District Council and with a lease for a new Zeal facility on a prime piece of real estate in Paraparaumu’s Coastlands shopping precinct. With construction of the facility set to start in February 2017 we are making the most of the current building in the meantime with street art and smaller events. But our focus now is on building our team, creating connections with local colleges and other youth providers
and, most importantly, on reaching Kāpiti ‘s young people where they are. We’ve gathered a team of 25 volunteers from local colleges, held workshops, launched a coffee cart for barista training, and we’ve delivered several events and a series of acoustic nights. Ever since our launch event in November 2015, Zeal Kāpiti has generated momentum organically with young people asking us for more. There is a real buzz in the air about Zeal on the Kāpiti Coast.
David Orchard
Zeal Kāpiti Centre Manager
THE NEED
11.8%
of 15-24 year olds are not in employment, education or training (NEET). 2
60%
of NEET young people experienced mental health trauma compared to 35% of employed young people. 3
LIVE FOR TOMORROW At Live For Tomorrow (Zeal’s mental health project) we are passionate about reaching young people with messages of hope and positive change, right where they spend the majority of their time: online and in school. Here’s what we do and how much of it we did in 2015: We make waves on social media Our daily social media content in 2015 engaged over 200,000. What really excited us though was the growth of our annual 10-Day Photo Challenge. 2000 people got involved, posting 7500 photos and reaching 3 million globally. Throughout the year we also chal-
lenged assumptions about West Auckland young people by sharing 78 portraits and stories online, reaching 500,000. We run LFT Chapters in schools In partnership with 24-7 YouthWork, we support young people to run groups in schools that reduce stigma and discrimination for young people going through hard times. In 2015, we piloted seven LFT Chapters, with initiatives reaching 7000 young people. In one instance, a young girl decided to not harm herself because of a Chapter’s initiative. In 2016 we’re expanding to over 20 Chapters nationwide.
In 2015 we got underway on our first feature length documentary. Ten young people from all over Aotearoa captured the story of their lives as it unfolded, using a small piece of technology found everywhere: the smart phone. The documentary will be released in 2016 and we couldn’t be more excited! Elliot Taylor
Live For Tomorrow Manager
OUR RESPONSE
We make films that make a difference
Social media engagements
200k +
No. of photos posted in our 10-Day Photo Challenge
7500
Stories of depression and stories of happiness. It has been an eye-opening experience that I will never forget.
Hi, I’m Matt. My name is Matt Billington. I’m 16 and as the photographer for The Other Side project, I’ve heard stories of both bullying and love, passions for basketball and global activism.
I have learnt countless skills, overcome challenges and, most of all, learnt to love the place that I call home: West Auckland. If there is anything I want to come out of this project, I want each and every young person in West Auckland to know they are not alone. These portraits are the future of West Auckland and they have a voice that needs to be heard.
THE NEED
11.8%
of 15-24 year olds are not in employment, education or training (NEET). 2
60%
of NEET young people experienced mental health trauma compared to 35% of employed young people. 3
$21,969
is the annual cost to NZ for each NEET young person. 4
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
As youth workers we were seeing young people who were struggling to find their feet after falling out of school and being unable to find jobs. They’d often spend their days in bed or on social media, typically resulting in poor physical and mental health. Alongside this, the Global Financial Crisis had left Zeal in a changed fundraising environment where the contestable funds that fuel our youth work were no longer a sure thing. The container
cafés presented themselves as a smart solution to both provide development opportunities for Wellington’s young people and to create an additional revenue stream for Zeal.
In 2015 we opened two container cafés (Stories at 40A Cuba St. and Georgia at cnr Dixon and Victoria Sts.). Each container has undergone a six-month journey from conception and feasibility studies to building, recruitment
OUR RESPONSE
and implementation. Each café is capable of placing 20 young people in barista training on a 10-week placement and, after just six months of operation, five of these young people had moved into long term employment in other Wellington cafes.
The Wellington public have been enormously supportive. Very quickly we picked up a strong cohort of regulars at both sites. In the case of Georgia we opened as a doughnut pop-up and often had lines of up to 200 people stretching around the block. On one morning alone we sold 400 donuts in the first two hours.
Initially some of the public struggled to understand the vision of the cafés, being worried we were creating a “youth hangout”. But in time we have won them over with a fantastic service that targets adult café connoisseurs. We’ve also had widespread attention from media, being featured on the Paul Henry Show, Seven Sharp, National Radio and in various print media. Scott Reeve
Zeal Social Enterprise Developer
Number of flat whites sold
14,982 Number of donuts sold
3,521 Young people in barista training (2015)
35
Salted caramel cookies sold
3,486
In 2016 Zeal is launching a youth kitchen where young people can learn industry-standard food production and catering as well as a third container café.
Each year Zeal brings together the country’s top change-makers to explore new ways of creating transformation amongst Aotearoa’s young people. The 2015 Tall Poppy Conference saw 220 delegates pack out Zeal West Auckland for one day of reinvigorating inspiration and networking. Delegates said this of the conference: “Absolutely amazing. Tall Poppy is hands down the most inspiring event I have attended.” “Tall Poppy gave me the inspiration I needed to finish the year well and get excited for the future of Aotearoa!”
Speakers included young change-makers Muskan Devta (author, speaker, disability advocate, 15), Laura Dekker (youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe on water, 18), and Kezia Hughes (up and coming singer songwriter, 16). It also featured some of New Zealand’s top change-maker voices including Billy Graham, Nigel Latta, Henare O’Keefe, Annette Culpan, Laura O’Connell Rapira, Tiki Tanne and Scottie Reeve. The 2016 Tall Poppy Conference will be held across two locations: Auckland and Wellington. Visit zeal.nz/tallpoppy
A 10-YEAR STORY: EMMAH WILLIAMS I first heard about Zeal Wellington when I was 14 from some older kids at school. I was amazed there was a place I could totally be myself and make friends who didn’t care what was cool or who was trendy. They were happy to let anyone into their group.
While hanging out at Zeal, I met Mon Green, a Zeal volunteer in her early 20s. I became really close with Mon and was able to confide in her my struggles. My parents had just split up and I had recently been diagnosed with a pretty serious illness. The Zeal staff banded around me and supported me. When I was 16 I started taking a leadership role with some of the younger girls. I would help out on Girl’s Nights and camps, really sparking my passion for youth work. This role gave me something to look forward to when my life was pretty rough. I had a family in Zeal
when my real family had disintegrated. Zeal made me feel safe and supported. In 2014, after five years working at a bank, I volunteered in Zeal’s after-school programme and absolutely loved it. The thought that I could be as influential to other young people as Mon had been to me made me reconsider my career path. I decided youth work was my calling and I’m now in my second year of the Zeal Youth Work Internship. I’m running a successful girl’s group and have counselled young people through some life-changing decisions. I am the happiest I have ever been. I am not only part of Zeal but Zeal is a big part of me. I love watching young people grow and develop their passions and dreams. It fills me with joy to know I can be someone’s safe, someone’s family, someone’s home.
FINANCES
Based on the financial year to 30 June 2015. For more detailed financial reports please visit zeal.nz/infoforstakeholders
HOW TO DONATE
Love what Zeal does? Want to help us reach more young people? Well, you’re in luck because donating is super easy! Head over to www.zeal.nz/donate and click the link to make your tax deductible donation.
REFERENCES
1. New Zealand Imigration (2016). “Refugee quota branch (RQB) arrival statistics”. Jan, 2016. Source: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/6D69584E-60E0-4D16-93D8-F6C00BC384F1/0/RQBArrivalsStatPak.pdf 2. Statistics NZ (2015). “Labour market statistics: March 2015 quarter.” http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/incomeand-work/employment_and_unemployment/LabourMarketStatistics_HOTPMar15qtr/Commentary.aspx#NEET 3. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2015). “Unemployment takes its toll on young people’s mental health.” http://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/news/records/2015/September/Unemployment-takes-its-toll-on-young-peoples-mental-health. aspx 4. Gail Pacheco (2015). “The cost of youth disengagement.” http://www.news.aut.ac.nz/news/2015/april/ the-cost-of-youth-disengagement#sthash.HftpZfCW.dpuf 5. Youth2000 National Survey (2012). “Youth’12”. https://www.fmhs.auckland.ac.nz/en/faculty/adolescent-health-research-group/youth2000-national-youth-health-survey-series/youth2012-survey.html
SPECIAL THANKS TO ...
Ministry of Social Development // Auckland Council // Health Promotion Agency // Lottery Grants Board // Wellington City Council // ASB Community Trust // Auckland Communities Foundation // Lion Foundation // Wliberforce 21 // Hamilton City Council // The Trust Community Foundation TTCF // Sky City Auckland Community Trust // WEL Energy Trust // Trust Waikato // Youthtown Inc. // Community Organisation Grants Scheme // Tindall Foundation - Grassroots Giving Fund // DV Bryant Trust // Ministry of Youth Development // Wellington Commmunity Trust // Sky City Hamilton Community Trust // TG Macarthy Trust // IHC Foundation // Winton and Margaret Bear Trust // Auckland Council—Creative Communities Scheme // Infinity Foundation // Nikau Foundation // Vodafone // Western Districts Community Foundation // NZ Music Foundation // Four Winds Foundation // Pelorus Trust // Ann Sinclair Trust // APRA // The Rotary Club of Waikato Sunrise // Anglican Diocese // And, finally, a massive thank you to all the generous individuals who give of their money and time (and both) to help keep Zeal inspiring young New Zealanders.
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