Children and Youth

KickStart Breakfast Programme

We partner with Fonterra and Sanitarium on the funding of the KickStart Breakfast programme. In 2018 KickStart was operating in 950 schools around NZ.

KidsCan

We partner with KidsCan to provide support to over 700 low-decile schools. KidsCan provides shoes, socks, raincoats, school bags and hygiene products to children in need.

OSCAR (Out of School Care and Recreation)

OSCAR stands for Out of School Care and Recreation. OSCAR services are before/after school and school holiday programmes for school-aged children, usually up to the age of 13 years.

Not all these services call themselves ‘OSCAR’ but they have common features such as a focus on play and recreation (rather than schooling), operating outside of school hours and in holiday times, and providing care while parents do other things – work, training or taking time for their own activities.

These programmes are run by all kinds of small and large organisations – community groups, private businesses, franchises, local government, marae, schools, churches, early childhood centres, etc.

MSD provides a contribution to the operating costs of eligible OSCAR programmes so parents and caregivers have access to childcare while they are working and/or training. MSD fund 567 providers, with 990 venues covering 57,000 children.

Youth Service

Aims to get young people into education, training or work-based learning. This will help young people gain the skills to find a job and have an independent future. Young people work with community-based providers who give guidance, support and encouragement to help them find the education, training or work-based learning that works for them.

Limited Service Volunteer (LSV)

LSV is a residential course where young people who aren’t studying or working can take part in a range of activities to help them move on to jobs, training or study. Run by the New Zealand Defence Force, LSV started in 1993 and courses run several times a year all over New Zealand.

Extraordinary Care Fund

The Extraordinary Care Fund helps clients in receipt of the Orphan’s Benefit or Unsupported Child’s Benefit to cover additional costs associated with children who are showing promise in a particular area or experiencing difficulty that is significantly impacting on their development.

Clients are eligible to receive one grant of up to $2,000 each financial year (1 July – 30 June), per child. The Extraordinary Care Fund can provide funding for costs such as: extra tuition fees, swimming lessons, orthodontic costs, teacher aide hours, representative sports events, and technology costs, among others.