Recreate NZ is a unique and innovative registered Charitable Trust established in 2002 in Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau.
Recreate NZ is committed to enhancing the intellectual, social, emotional and physical development, and the independence of young people with intellectual disabilities.
Our main kaupapa is to serve our amazing community of young people with disabilities, and to act as a valuable support network to their whānau. We currently deliver over 5,500 opportunities across a range of 600 adventure, recreation, social, education and work-skills programmes in the Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Bay of Plenty and Christchurch regions each year.
We believe in fostering a safe, inclusive and positive environment to enable personal development opportunities for young people on our programmes.
Recreate NZ focuses on experiential learning and meaningful personal growth opportunities for young people with disabilities.
Young people are supported by age-appropriate facilitators and volunteers. We encourage volunteerism, providing leadership skills and inspiring young people to engage in community-based initiatives.
We follow social and rights-based models to challenge the status quo. We work to identify and remove barriers to enable full participation in society.
All our programmes are group-based, where age-appropriate socialisation is a key factor for developing friendships.
We foster healthy lifestyles including good food choices, being active and encouraging positive social relationships.
We are strengths-based and person-centred to encourage autonomy, where young people can make positive decisions for themselves.
We support parents, caregivers, and whānau by offering valuable respite resulting in stronger and more connected communities.
When disability is not viewed positively, it puts disabled people at high risk of social exclusion. Recreate NZ programmes and events are inclusive, utilising mainstream venues and activity providers, teaching the community to be more thoughtful about individual capabilities, and increasing acceptance of functional diversity in society.
Participants develop skills and connections on our programmes that enable greater community contribution, and at the same time barriers are broken down, creating more accessibility. Positive experiences promote achievement and elicit responses in other areas of life such as, further education, independent living, employment opportunities, increased socialisation and an active role in community life.
Recreate NZ is run by a team of dedicated staff who all bring different skills, interests and personalities to the table. Our Programme Coordinators are very talented in designing, organising and facilitating our programmes, while our operations team busily works behind the scenes in all things planning, fundraising, supporting and accounting.
Our team is driven to make the most engaging, fun, rewarding and safe programmes for our communities across the motu.
Recreate NZ's volunteer Board of Trustees is made up of experienced leaders from the not-for-profit, corporate and education sectors, dedicated to expanding our mission of life-changing experiences for youth with disabilities.
Recreate NZ highly values the input and contributions by our Youth Board. Established during the time of covid and lockdowns, our youth board is made up of young people who are a part of our community and attend our programmes regularly.
We have seen Youth Board members become more confident, visible and vocal on programmes. As a youth-focussed organisation, we have enjoyed the opportunity to include our young leaders in decision-making to make Recreate relevant, inclusive and enjoyable.
If you still have questions requiring answers, hopefully we have you covered here!
Our participant guidelines are a great starting point, as Recreate NZ programmes have been designed to meet the needs of young people with disabilities or neurodiversity, and who have mild to moderate support needs.
Progressing from there, we request that a registration form is completed by the parent/caregiver. Someone from our team will then book an in-person meeting with you, and if all goes well, we can then look at booking half day or single day programmes, and finally overnight programmes.
Payment for the whole programme can be made using Carer Support and various forms of Individualised Funding. If your young person does not have access to Carer Support or Individualised Funding, and you think you may be eligible, please get in touch with us at info@recreate.org.nz and we can have a chat.
If you do have access to those funding options, but they have been exhausted, cash payments are still accepted.
If you have completed the registration process, you are now ready to make booking requests for programmes in your region!
To make a booking request click on your region in the navigation bar and scroll down to our programmes. Have a look through and select the programmes that appeal to you and your whānau. The frequency is up to you, it could be a little or it could be a lot!
Our regional teams then get together and place people on programmes, ensuring that programmes are fairly distributed. We then send out booking confirmations via email. It is worth noting that many of our programmes have huge demand, so unfortunately you may not get on everything you request.
Please get in touch with our regional offices as soon as possible, so our teams can reach out to our waiting lists. Cancellation greater than 7 days notice has no fee attached, cancellation within 7 days (unless sickness) has 20% cancellation fee.
Every now and again we get asked if we can provide this service, however all our programmes are group-based with a ratio of 3 or 4 young people to 1 leader. See our participant guidelines for more information on who we can support.
If your young person requires 1:1 support they may still be able to attend certain Recreate programmes, accompanied by their own support person. Please get in touch with your regional branch to discuss the support needs of your young person.
We release our programmes on a termly basis (Term 1 / Summer, Term 2 / Autumn, Term 3 / Winter, Term 4 / Spring), typically a month before the school holiday period.
We inform our families of when our booking window is coming up through our newsletters and social media accounts. Our booking round will be open for one week, when everybody sends us their booking requests. Our teams then place people on programmes, followed by sending out booking confirmation emails.
You can still request programmes outside the booking window. Generally, our programmes will be full, but we will place you on the waiting list and get in touch if a spot opens up.
Brilliant! Our programmes have great community involvement, and we love having volunteer support to create a fun, safe and engaging environment. If you are aged between 15-35 years, and you may have as little as one evening free every three months, we would love to hear from you! As part of onboarding with Recreate, all our volunteers are interviewed, police vetted, and are provided a great rundown of our programmes and values.
If this sounds like you, please email volunteering@recreate.org.nz.
Here at Recreate we have interns completing placements from local universities or from abroad. We’ve welcomed people from the U.S, Canada, Germany, Austria, China, Malaysia, Australia and more! Typically, our interns join us for anything from 6 weeks – 4 months and are mostly involved in supporting our staff and youth on our programmes. The majority of our interns are undertaking study in Sport and Recreation, Psychology or Youth Work.
To learn more email volunteering@recreate.org.nz.
We are generously supported by an incredible group of national and local funders, including Foundation North, Simplicity Foundation, Lindsay Foundation, Lotteries, COGS, regional trusts and many more. With no funding from government agencies, we are constantly fundraising to top up the funds we receive programme payments.
We're here to help — feel free to reach out!
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