Laying the foundations of future hauora / wellbeing
About the Trust
New Zealand is facing a growing health crisis, with report after report citing the health of the tamariki of Aotearoa is close to the bottom of the ranks of many of our OECD counterparts, and if not improved will lead to a lifetime of health challenges and an escalation in the societal and personal cost. So we are on a mission to help turn these stat's around, arming our kiwi tamariki with the tools and motivation to be the healthiest they can be!
The body of research grows daily showing the links between eating and sleeping well, moving often, replacing device time with time spent with others or getting outside into nature, and the positive impact of small daily actions on our mental and physical health. So our programs are fun and entertaining to encourage tamariki to develop the knowledge and desire to take simple steps every day to support and nurture their own health and wellbeing, ensuring they thrive as youngsters and lay a solid foundation of healthy habits to take with them into adulthood.
We are also aware of the strong influence that children have on their friends and whanau so the ripple effect of their learning on the wider community is exponential.
About the Virtual Adventure Program
It has been run for the NSW Ministry of Health, collaborating with NSW Rugby League and successfully evaluated by the University of Sydney as having a myriad of benefits to the participants, including moving more, but more importantly, loving the feeling of being more fit and healthy as a result of participating.
In NZ in 2016, with the support of sponsors, 15,000 children and their parents took part in the Virtual Adventure and the 2018 event saw more than 40,000 children and families from across NZ participating and many more on the waiting list.
Despite the challenges of 2020, twenty thousand children from schools from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South, took part in the Zespri Young and Healthy Virtual Adventure, visited and supported by our inspiring ASICS Ambassadors and making more healthy habits a part of their day.
We know that when children are active, sleeping and eating well, they concentrate and learn better in class, and if games are on offer their engagement goes up a notch!
This program is a fun way to discuss and integrate principles of hauora. It uses a little bit of technology to engage our "iPad generation" and takes your class on a virtual global adventure, led by a star cast of NZ sporting elite, ASICS Ambassadors; Ardie Savea, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Kane Williamson and Samantha Charlton.
By engaging in healthy daily behaviours in the real world, participants will earn points to move their class around the virtual course "visiting" places like; Peru, China, New Zealand and more. As well as getting healthy tips from our ASICS Ambassadors, they'll learn about the history and culture of the destinations they reach.
If you'd like to join us on the 2021 adventure, read more here.
About Our Founder
For more than 25 years, founder Kim Harvey has poured her energy, passion and knowledge into inspiring and empowering NZ”ers, big and small, to maximise and protect their mental and physical health and wellbeing as well as they possibly can by taking small steps, every single day.
She learned early in her career that the key to helping people to find the intrinsic motivation to achieve this for a lifetime, centres on having fun so being healthy is a choice they want to make, rather than a chore.
This has been the guiding principle of all the successful programs she has developed, from engaging and award winning health and wellbeing programs for workplaces; individual health coaching plans, and entertaining events for children and their families. The programs have empowered participants to develop a love of being active and making healthy choices the way they “do life” having a massive, positive impact on their mental and physical health, every day.
With research showing that the first 10 years of life are critical to ensure children develop a love of being healthy and active, Kim developed a home-based activity program for children and their families to help them find their way to create sustainable healthy habits. She secured funding from Sport Auckland and teamed with a DHB dietician, visited families in their homes and often brought her families together to have fun being active together in a supportive environment. This was so effective it was rolled out nationwide under the Green Prescription “Active Families” banner and continues today.
To reach more people, in a cost-effective way, working with a passionate group of animators and developers, Kim created an entertaining, online wellbeing challenge that has been embraced by workplaces, schools, children and their families for it's engaging nature and effectiveness in helping individuals to embed daily habits.
Get in touch with Kim:
M +64 275760133
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Contact us
If you are interested in supporting the work of the Young and Healthy 2019 Trust, or you want to participate in the Virtual Adventure either with your class, family or community group, please drop us a line.