Tauranga, 10 June 2025  

The Acorn Foundation marked its ninth consecutive year of supporting local rangatahi with a celebration at The Kollective co-working space, honouring recipients of the 2025 Outward Bound scholarships. Twelve Year 12 students from seven Western Bay of Plenty secondary schools – Tauranga Boys’ College, Tauranga Girls’ College, Ōtūmoetai College, Pāpāmoa College, Te Puke High School, Katikati College and Whakatāne High School – travelled to Anakiwa in the Marlborough Sounds to complete the three-week Tangaroa Watch course.

Funded by generous Acorn donors and community partners, the scholarships enable students who show leadership potential, service to others and financial need to experience Outward Bound’s renowned outdoor challenges. The programme builds resilience, confidence and teamwork, skills students bring back to their schools, whānau and wider community.

Acorn Foundation CEO Lori Luke thanked donors for investing in young people’s futures and acknowledged the ongoing partnership with Outward Bound New Zealand, which selects candidates in consultation with local schools.

Acorn Scholarship Specialist, Jo Wilson, says “Receiving opportunities to build confidence is such a gift for young people. This course really puts them on a pathway to success, having the confidence to put themselves forward and seize future opportunities. We are so fortunate to be able to provide this opportunity to so many students via Roy and Mary’s foresight and generosity”

Congratulations to the following schools with scholarship winners:

• Katikati College - Jazmin Cameron, Dion Davis
• Ōtūmoetai College - Jackson Jane
• Papamoa College - Cyan John, Arwen Christian
• Tauranga Boys’ College - Trace Taikato-Smith, Caleb Dix
• Tauranga Girls’ College - Jade Lee-Kerkhof, Casey Ockwell
• Te Puke High School - Georgia Stapleton, Sebastian Rollinson
• Whakatāne High School - Jay McKane, Reagan Farmer

About Acorn Foundation:

The Acorn Foundation, the local community foundation in the Western Bay of Plenty, enables generous people to make a bigger impact in their communities, by investing the funds and distributing the returns to causes that matter – forever.

The Acorn Foundation is the community foundation for the Western Bay of Plenty. Since 2003, our 700-plus donors have enabled us to distribute more than $20 million, including $3.2 million in 2024, to charities, scholarships and community initiatives that make our region stronger—today and forever.

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