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PROUDLY BY:SPONSORED TUI JOINT VENTURE PARTNERS

www.bigbrothersbigsisters.org.nz

New Plymouth - Ph(Also operating in Waitara, Inglewood, Stratford & Hawera)

: 06 759 8854

“We gratefully acknowledge our Principal Sponsors, who have been instrumental in enabling us to positively impact on children’s lives and empowering them to achieve in the future. However, this does not include all of the many community partners and generous supporters of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Taranaki that we

have at a more local level, but we are no less grateful to them for their generosity and support”.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Taranaki Events:Mon 4 Feb 2013 Stratford Monthly Meet, 7.00pm, Stratford Community House, Juliet Street, Stratford. Tues 12 Feb 2013 New Plymouth Bi-Monthly Meet, 7.00pm at the Tasman Club, Octavius Place, New

Plymouth.

Taranaki Events:WelcomeWelcome December 2012

his is the last newsletter for the year, so we wish you all happy holidays with your families and hope you have a wonderful Christmas and awesome New Year. The Tnext newsletter will be out in February with lots of new information. Keep those

piccies and great stories coming in - we expect a big pile of them in the New Year! Stay safe, remember to slip, slop, slap & wrap, and we’ll catch up with you in 2013. PS. keep an eye out for Santa!

thPrefabulous! Pimping Prefabs—Puke Ariki: Wednesday 12 Dec —All Day. Bring your inspiration and creativity and

pimp out your very own model prefab. Everything is provided to make your ideal home, bach, hideout or man-cave

and add your creation to the Prefab Village and be in to win. Open

to all ages. FREE

Christmas At The Bowl 2012—Bowl of Brooklands: Sunday 16th December, gates open at 5pm so bring along the

family and your picnic dinner to really enjoy the atmosphere of the event. Pre-show

entertainment starts at 7pm with a host of Taranaki entertainers sure to delight and Santa himself will also make an

appearance. Sit back and gaze skywards around 9:30pm for the Fireworks Spectacular and exit via Pukekura Park to

take in the Festival of Lights display through the park on its opening night. Candles and holders will be provided.

GOLD COIN

TSB Festival of Lights – Pukekura Park: 16 December – 26 January. Nightly entertainment from 6.30pm, lights up at

8.30pm. The park becomes a magical night-time wonderland and is a spectacular backdrop for an extensive

entertainment programme that runs day and night. For full Summer Scene programme, photos etc, go to

www.festivaloflights.co.nz or call 06-759-6060 FREE

Take A Kid Tramping—Meet at 125A Brooklands Rd: 9:30am Sunday 16th December. NP Tramping Club will provide

experienced leaders on the tramps. Advice on what to bring and how to make

tramping a great family experience is available on the website www.nptc.org.nz. Contact Karen on 753 8577 for more

information. FREE

Congratulations !!We have a smaller list of celebrations this month, but nonetheless just as special as other months. This shows our growth is still happening and also the commitment from our wonderful group of volunteer mentors who continue to give of their time. Congratulations to the following match who will celebrate their 1 YEAR match anniversary this month: Leah and MarishkaAnd let’s not forget our most recent matches who are celebrating their 3 MONTH match anniversary this month - their first wonderful milestone!Suellen and BethanyMegan and NadiaThese milestones really are a wonderful achievement, and one that we know has taken much time and dedication from you and your families. A huge well done to everyone.

Proudly supported by: Francis Douglas Memorial College

Graham & Thomas had a great time making these delicious looking muffins. Thomas was so impressed with his efforts, he took the leftovers home for his school lunches!

During the school holidays Trei went to work with Dennis, helping him on some plumbing jobs and earning a few dollars for his ‘savings’. During their work they had noticed bikes at the NPDC transfer station in various state of repair. A suitable bike was ‘rescued’ from there at a cost of $8, less one pedal crank (purchased for $26 with free pedals).

After pumping up the tyres and an all day clean up, the bike was like new. They have had a couple of outings on the bike and both are really enjoying it.

Helen & Ruby designed this

fantastic looking cake for Helen’s

husband’s birthday. It was a big hit!

Dennis & Trei getting mobile!!

Info Snippets...Take A Kid Tramping: The New Plymouth Tramping Club is hosting a series of tramps over the summer, the next one being held on Sunday 16th December. Meet at 125A Brooklands Rd, 9.30am for a 10.00am start. They will heading in to check out the Boars Head Mine from the end of Weld Road. For more info or to register phone Kevin Curd 753 3692, or Karen 753 8577. You can also check out their website - www.nptc.org.nz

Beach Clean Up: We have been offered the chance to help keep our beaches beautiful and rubbish free. We think this would be good chance for you to involve your young person in something community minded so we have set aside the date of 10th February, 2013 for this (it will only take an hour or two). If this is something you think you would be keen to participate in, please register your interest with Andrea - andrea.jupp@bigbrothersbigsisters.org.nz or phone 759 8861.

Payroll Giving: This is a scheme where you nominate a charitable organisation to receive regular donations direct from your wages, or as an employer you can set up your payroll system to do this. The tax rebate is automatically reimbursed to you at the time of donating, so no hassles with keeping receipts until the end of the financial year! If you, or someone you know, are interested in selecting Big Brothers Big Sisters, please get in touch with Paul, on 759 8854, or paul.lampe@bigbrothersbigsisters.org.nz for more information.Facebook: Don’t forget to share your stories, insights, ideas and photos on the Big Brothers Big Sisters facebook page! It’s a great resource for our Mentors and we love hearing what you’ve been up to.

Sport Taranaki have been very generously providing funding for several young people to attend swimming lessons. Seen here are two of the lucky recipients with their mentors along with some feedback from Doug (pictured with Caleb below).

“I pick Caleb up from school every Friday at 3.00pm and swimming lessons start at 3.30pm so it gives us a chance to have a chat before his swimming starts. The swimming lessons have been a real boost to his self-worth.....Caleb started off by splashing all over the place and I thought that he would never make a swimmer, but with just 10 sessions he was able to freestyle swim the whole length of the pool then turn around to back-stroke for a length. Over the last 6 months I see in Caleb that he has become more confident, more outgoing and happier in himself.”

A huge thank you to Sport Taranaki for funding the swimming lessons and also supporting our young people to learn, grow and excel.

SWIMMING LESSONS

Doug and Caleb at Hawera Pool

Nancy and Roxanne at Todd Energy Aquatic Centre

Holiday Hours & Emergency

ContactAll staff will be on leave from the 21st December with some returning on the 7th January, so if you find yourself needing urgent assistance during that time, please contact Paul on 027 260 8851.

Thank You To...Pioneer Village and Tawhiti Museum for all their support and generosity during the End of Year functions for both Community Based and School Based mentors and their young people. It was greatly appreciated by everyone!