Our Mission
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Children and young people deserve the best opportunity possible to engage at every level during their school years, so that they can thrive and grow in independence and confidence.
The health and well being of children impacts everyone. When children struggle, the impact ripples outwards and can affect future generations. Lifewalk responds to that need by providing trained chaplains and placing them into state schools in Aotearoa.
Our people are dedicated volunteers, giving their time to provide pastoral care for the whole school community. We have over 250 chaplains volunteering in schools nationwide, from primary through to secondary level.
We see individual lives weaving together, creating a beautiful, rich tapestry. And a school chaplain is a part of that tapestry.
We are locals too
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Schools are often the ‘hubs’ of our communities – where students and their families connect in a variety of ways, through the myriad of cultural, art and sporting events on offer.
A Chaplain is a person within this network who loves to take an interest in and be a part of a school, its people and its happenings.
Over time, chaplains become ‘part of the woodwork’ - celebrating with staff, students and their families throughout the ups and downs of life. When time is invested into people, they gain renewed strength and purpose.
We work in partnership with schools and, with their direction, we seek to provide students and staff with someone who cares about them, walks with them through the changes and challenges they face, and celebrates their achievements.
We want to support the whole whānau, not just the individual. We train our chaplains to embrace all backgrounds, belief systems and cultures.
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“Share our similarities, celebrate our differences.”
M. Scott Peck
We are educators
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Lifewalk provides quality chaplaincy training to equip volunteers with the tools they need to be effective.
Our chaplaincy training is called the CARE course - an acronym for Chaplaincy, Assessing, Resourcing and Equipping. The course is run over two days (approximately fourteen hours of ‘in-class’ training).
All trainees, whether basic, standard or advanced, are required to complete the full course before being placed within a school at the direction of a Lifewalk representative.
The CARE course is split into six modules, covering:
Personal development
Listening and communication
Pastoral care skills
Common issues and referrals best-practice
Developmental issues
Understanding people
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Cultural models
Health and safety
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2019
“Children and young people learn better when they are engaged, safe and included. This means their needs are understood and their identities, languages, cultures, abilities and personal qualities are recognised, respected and valued”
Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy 2019, p 47 // Read the full strategy (off site)
We are a charity
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We rely on the generosity of grants and private donations from people like you to facilitate sector-leading training for chaplains in state schools.
2018 Expenses and Surplus
A big thanks to all our funding partners!
