Creating Leadership Pathways with the Champions Initiative Outward Bound Scholarship

In 2023, thanks to the support of Outward Bound’s generous donors, Outward Bound and Champions Initiative partnered to establish a unique 21-day program. The program is offered as a scholarship to youth members from Champions Initiative Partner academies, who exhibit leadership qualities. The program is made up of fourteen members aged sixteen to eighteen years old.

Now in its third year, this program is unique in that it brings together fourteen participants from one charity for 21 days. The participants are engaged in their local academies, which help them grow as people and realise their potential and how they can positively contribute to their community.

This Outward Bound program provides an extension on the work the academies are doing locally by providing an environment that enables further growth. Outward Bound chose to deliver this program in partnership with Champions Initiative because it aligns strongly with its own kaupapa, and the belief that their programs create better people, better communities and a better world. To be able to have fourteen rangatahi attend a 21-day program from a charity like Champions Initiative, enables Outward Bound to further support this growth within the rangatahi that attend. If the rangatahi that attend can return to their communities and share the outcomes that they have gained with their peers and their whānau, then hopefully the course and the experience is supporting others to grow and look within by what the participants can role model at home and in their local academies.

Seeing the growth in confidence, resilience, and self-belief in participants during their time on the program is a huge highlight, as is the shared bond that is create among the group. Seeing a group of rangatahi with a common thread binding them together to become a team, a whānau and a support network for each other for the duration of the program shows them the power of a community.

We believe this partnership is particularly important to New Zealand because it highlights the impactful work that charities do to contribute to society, and what can be achieved when we put our resources together to provide pathways for rangatahi to thrive. Everyone deserves the opportunity to realise their potential and be granted experiences that enable them to gain new perspectives of themselves and what they are capable of. This is particularly important for our youth who are our leaders of tomorrow.

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For more information please email shopie@champions.org.nz

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