Franklin Pool and Leisure and Franklin Family Services (FFS), located in Pukekohe, New Zealand, have connected over a shared passion for supporting at-risk youth in their local community.
FFS is a leading agency for social services in the Franklin district. Franklin Pool and Leisure and FFS started the 6-week pilot program in Term 2 and after a successful trial are returning with funding for Term 3.
The program’s goal is for students to visit Franklin Pool and Leisure on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 pm – 5 pm for positive afterschool activities. Each week Franklin has a different activity planned such as rugby training sessions, how to be a lifeguard training sessions, netball skills and self-defence classes.
Hilarie Legg, Venue Manager at Franklin Pool and Leisure said, “This program has been an amazing opportunity for our youth and we have saw a lot of success during the pilot program. However, we have had our challenges along the way.
“Some children did not always bring their togs or shoes for the gym, so we started a donations box where community members could donate pre-loved items. We collected them up, washed them, stored them and when a child forgot something we could loan them the item they needed so no child was missing out or feeling discouraged,” Ms Legg said.
“We had six children who were initially put forward from FFS, with a mix of male and female students from all different backgrounds. We are proud to say all six stayed engaged for the 6-week program,” Ms Legg concluded.
Franklin Pool and Leisure had some exceptional success stories that happened in a short amount of time. FFS were extremely impressed with the work that was done over the 6-week pilot program that they applied for funding to support two more 6-week programs during Term 3.
Franklin Pool and Leisure currently have ten students enrolled and ready to start in Term 3, starting 25 July 2022.
