Sir John Kirwan is hitting the road for a great cause, driving an estimated 2,100k across the country to raise his goal of $1M for the mental health of kids in Aotearoa. Words Hannah Brown
Sir John Kirwan has embarked on a journey across New Zealand, hosting events all the way from Auckland through to Invercargill, including events in Christchurch on Friday July 8 at Whitau School, Dunedin City Library on July 11 and Invercargill's Community Trust South Centre on July 12.
To support the cause, people can purchase a $20 raffle ticket to go in the draw to win a Land Rover Defender 90.
Sir John says his charity Mitey “have a hugely ambitious goal to raise $1M for the future wellbeing of our tamariki. I’d ask the people of Christchurch to dig deep and give what they can to support this important cause.”
His ambition is for the two-week campaign to raise enough money to roll out Mitey to 40 more schools, benefitting 11,000 kiwi kids, across the country.
“I know we can do it, and I know kiwis will get behind this moment. Together, we can change the course of mental health in this country” he says.
New Zealand has some of the worst mental health statistics in the OECD and it will take a generation to change this, which is Mitey’s mission.
Mitey helps teach the ‘ABC of mental health’ to children when they’re young, by teaching mental health as part of the New Zealand curriculum, enabling children to learn about it at school, every day, just like literacy and maths.
The programme was developed over the course of two years by the Sir John Kirwan Foundation, working with highly experienced specialists from the University of Auckland as well as New Zealand educators, teachers, and clinicians.
Provided free in schools, the charity has already positively impacted more than 12,000 New Zealand children across the country, and this campaign gives other tamariki the chance to receive this vital programme in their education.
Land Rover New Zealand CEO, Steve Kenchington, says “we want to create an environment that future generations not only survive in, but thrive in, and are proud to support our brand ambassador and good friend Sir John Kirwan with this landmark initiative.”
For more information and to purchase a raffle ticket for The Mitey Drive, click here.