
Every year, between 50,000 and 60,000 Auckland children take part in sports programmes that don’t cost their schools or family a cent, thanks to the John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation.
And a large percentage of them come from South Auckland.
“South Auckland is our city’s greatest area of need,” says the foundation’s general manager Rick Pickard.
Poverty is the biggest problem in the community and some of the families in the area are really struggling, says Rick.
Infill housing development means roll growth is “through the roof” for schools in the region.
“Providing sports programmes at no cost is the only way many kids can access these opportunities.”

The John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable trust that was started in 2008 when Sir John Walker was a councillor on the former Manukau City Council and Len Brown was Mayor.
“They both had close ties to South Auckland and wanted to do something for local tamariki.”
The foundation’s flagship initiative is its Community Swim programme. Around 20,000 children from 91 primary schools across East and South Auckland get eight free swimming lessons annually. That’s 160,000 free swimming lessons provided at no cost to the schools – the foundation buses the children to their local pool and works with local providers to teach the young students.
But that’s just one of many programmes the foundation delivers. Children can also participate in Run, Jump and Throw for Gold, a primary school athletics programme, sports camps for intermediate school students or attend a Kowhai Heart Wellness Workshop with Monique Walker.

Monique delivers these wellbeing workshops in local intermediate and primary schools, based on her book, Arlo and Orca, written after she lost her dad to suicide. The initiative helps children identify and process three significant emotions: anger, sadness, and fear. About 10,000 students and teachers have taken part.
“It’s important for our tamariki to be able to express grief, sorrow and talk about what’s going on for them,” Rick says.
Hungerball is a recent addition to the offering for schools – this is a blow-up sports arena with six goals which allows children to develop co-ordination and sports skills by playing a variety of ball games in teams or as individuals. It was designed in New Zealand to promote healthy lifestyles through enjoyable physical activity.
The foundation, which has a home at Vector Wero Whitewater Park, also provides children living with cancer and disabilities the chance to experience a day doing water activities, gives kids new sports shoes, through a sponsorship with Asics, and delivers balls and sports equipment to schools.

Wiri Licensing Trust has been able to champion the foundation’s work in several ways, says General Manager Kim Green. It has supported funding applications to Trillian Trust to cover Monique’s salary for the wellbeing workshop programme, some of the costs of providing the Community Swim programme and the purchase of a set of games that are connected to a projector and played onto a wall to allow kids to learn while being physically active.
“We love the work Rick and Danielle are doing in our community.”
Originally funded by Manukau City Council, the foundation still works closely with Auckland Council but now has to compete with other organisations to get the money it needs to run its programmes.
“Wiri Licensing Trust is really good at looking at the needs of the community. Not-for-profits are reliant on getting this funding. Without it, we won’t survive.”
And that’s unthinkable for Rick, who is passionate about keeping the programmes free and removing the barriers for families to give local children the chance to be active.
“I want every day they are on one of our programmes to be the best days of their lives.”
Wiri Licensing Trust wants to connect with local community groups and organisations that are doing great work in our hood to understand how we can better support you – email us at info@wiritrust.org.nz.

