Wellington-based non-profit, The Shift Foundation, launches a microsite to celebrate their impact for young women in the community since inception in 2016.

Over the past four years, The Shift Foundation has delivered over 1,000 ‘Just Shift It’ sessions, getting young women active more than 15,100 times.

The site, launched today, also creates a new way for members of the community to give back in order to help ‘Shift’ young women forward.

Fran McEwen, Founder of the Shift Foundation believes the community’s support has been critical for reaching this point in Shift’s journey and is excited to see that continue.

“We’re working alongside young women to support them on their wellbeing journey, developing confidence, clear values and a connection to physical activity. Chasing funding is always the thing that takes us away from our work and the important relationships we’ve built. The goal is to become as self-sufficient as we can be, and asking those who share our passion for wellbeing is one way to do this,” said McEwen.

Shift’s ‘Give back, Shift forward’ page celebrates the work they’ve done through their annual EmpowHER conference, LeadHERship and ‘Just Shift It’ physical activity and wellbeing programmes. And it doesn’t stop! Never short of an idea or two a team from Shift is participating in Sport New Zealand’s Young Women’s Innovation Design Challenge. Last month, along with seven other teams, they spent two days co-designing a prototype enabling kōhine (young women) to engage in physical activity in the outdoors using Tikanga Māori.

“We’ve also just finished a six month pilot programme in two intermediate schools. We have discovered the needs of young women are unique to each stage of their development. We see the potential of early intervention to better support young women between the ages of 11-13, as they transition into college; and how building wellbeing and resilience earlier could have a positive impact on decision making and engagement in physical activity."

Since 2016, The Shift Foundation has...
• Turned from a Wellington City Council project into a fully fledged Charitable Trust
• Connected with over 4,500 young women through its physical activity, leadership and empowerment programmes
• Won two national awards for Community Impact
• Grown its delivery footprint from Wellington City to Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, Kapiti, and the Wairarapa
• And partnered with 100+ entities and organisation to deliver holistic programmes that improve wellbeing outcomes for young women. in our communities

For more information or to pledge a donation to the Shift Foundation, visit www.givebackshiftforward.shiftnz.org

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