Gentle, spirited waiata plays in the background while a group of young women passionately share ideas to help other young women, like them, to flourish. "A sports day to help mental health" says one. "A pop-up mobile van for our communities," shares another. Like Harold, of the Life Education Trust fame. All ideas are safe here. It is a space The Shift Foundation has intentionally created for young women to build confidence and express themselves authentically.

"We want to make sure that young women's voices are heard," says Shift Foundation Chief Executive, Tash Ingram, "many still aren’t given a seat at the table, and we want to change that."

Supporting young women's wellbeing

The Shift Foundation's story started when Founder, Fran McEwen, went on a run at age 25. She had come out of a few 'tricky teenage years' and was hoping to get into a better headspace. Run complete; she became hooked on exercise and the many benefits it had for her mental health.

Fran went on to study sociology at the University of Canterbury, where she researched the barriers for young women taking part in recreational sport (bullying and a lack of self-confidence being among them), before piloting the Shift programme in collaboration with Wellington City Council. The pilot was so successful that The Shift Foundation was established the year after with the goal to improve the wellbeing of women aged 12-25 through physical activity and meaningful social connection.

Transformative programmes to build confidence

Since then, Shift has diversified, offering courses and programmes designed to holistically improve young women's wellbeing. These include Just Shift It; offering fun, low-cost recreational activities, LeadHERship; focused on building leadership capability, Shift Your Mind, providing tools to improve self-esteem and build resilience and Puāwai, a kaupapa Māori programme which connects kōhine Māori to their culture and hauora. Uniquely, all programmes are co-designed by the young women they are intended to benefit. This is a key factor for success, says Tash.

"It's important that we engage kōhine in issues that are important to them," she explains, "we want to empower them to have a voice in issues that affect and will continue to affect their worlds."

It is Shift's belief that by providing opportunities for kōhine to influence the issues that matter to them, such as transphobia, racism, and islamophobia, they are instigating a wider movement for social change and a more inclusive Aotearoa New Zealand.

Building whanaungatanga

Underpinning every successful programme outcome, every ounce of gained confidence and each steppingstone to realised potential is a strong foundation of whanaungatanga. "For us, building positive relationships and connections with kōhine is crucial to what we do," explains Tash. "The relationships that our kaimahi taiohi (youth workers) and programme facilitators build with the kōhine they support and journey with are so important to creating a safe space and trusting environment for kōhine to bring their authentic selves to."

In 2022, The Shift Foundation sought funding to support the salary of one of their kaimahi taiohi. Understanding the pivotal role that these roles play in successful outcomes for young women, Nikau Foundation was delighted to support, providing a $10,000 grant from the Porirua District Fund to help young women to flourish in this region.

To find out more about The Shift Foundation, click here.

Supporting kōhine to live their best lives.

"We want to make sure that young women's voices are heard," says Shift Foundation Chief Executive, Tash Ingram, "many still aren’t given a seat at the table, and we want to change that."

"It's important that we engage kōhine in issues that are important to them," she explains, "we want to empower them to have a voice in issues that affect and will continue to affect their worlds."

Encouraging meaningful connection with nature.

Promoting social change through the arts .