Dedicated to youth wellbeing

Christchurch charity UpstreamNZ, which is dedicated to strengthening the wellbeing of children and young people, has raised more than $100,000 for youth charities through a new funding model.

“New Zealand has some of the highest mental health stats for teenagers in the world,” says UpstreamNZ co-founder Mitch Shaw.

“Research shows that having positive stakeholders in their lives helps young people work through any difficulties they are having, but one of the biggest barriers is getting funding to make these stakeholders available. We started UpstreamNZ in 2018 to help solve the problem with fundraising, to make sure these resources were available. All round, it is a win-win.”

Using a ‘triple win’ model, Kiwis buy from an approved UpstreamNZ Supplier, a commercial business that has chosen to support UpstreamNZ. The supplier donates a portion of their invoice to one of UpstreamNZ’s 13 approved youth charities. The customer doesn’t pay any extra, and with over 100 suppliers to choose from, there are plenty of opportunities to create impact.

UpstreamNZ supports local and national charities including CDN Trust, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Wai-Ora Trust and Conductive Education Trust.