Kitty McKinley
September 2013
Challenge 2000 started in the Johnsonville Parish in 1988 to walk alongside young people and families so that they might be enabled to experience life to the full. Today, Challenge 2000 continues to walk with those who find parts of life difficult and also to provide an opportunity to those who want to share their gifts to serve, lead and make a difference in their church and country.
In these tough economic times, many Challenge families and young people struggle to meet their basic needs let alone have access to the extras that represent a full life. Part-time work, high rents, lack of education, poor health, family trauma, poor access to transport and intergenerational poverty: these are all barriers to wellbeing.
Half of the people with whom Challenge 2000 works struggle through poverty to survive. So staff and volunteers are often required to support young people and families for lengthy periods of time at great financial cost. Challenge has a YES disposition – because of the gospel and because the cost of saying NO is desperately high for the young people, children and families concerned.
So every year we take to the streets of Wellington in a great Catholic tradition to beg for money to continue our work.
In 2013 we need more of you – your parishes, families and friends – to give more, to collect more, to promote more on Friday 6 September.
Please help us to serve others – then we can continue and maybe even do a bit more!
Call John or Trish on (04) 477-6827 or visit challenge2000.org.nz if you can help.