We want to see young people thrive
We want to see young people enjoy their high school years and build a great foundation to launch themselves into adult life. We want to see a good, strong, healthy next generation of New Zealanders coming through.
Seeing young people thrive is essentially why 24-7 YouthWork (24-7YW) exists.
We believe the old adage: it takes a village to raise a child. In light of this, 24-7YW facilitates the connection between a local school and a local church to provide trained youth workers to work within a school.
We all know the teenage years are full of challenges, especially as young people seek to find out who they are and establish their place in the world. Schools are formative in this development and each 24-7 youth worker seeks to serve their local school in whatever capacity is required. It is about effective encouragement for young people and quality service delivery for schools. In other words, youth workers supporting young people and serving the school in practical ways.
The same youth workers work in and out of school: 10 paid hours per week in school and they are also significantly involved in their church youth community. The relationship between the school and church is unique as youth workers act as a link to the wider community in which they live.
We focus on what we have in common – we want to see young people succeed and flourish in their future. All 24-7 youth workers recognise that there is a huge range of different beliefs in a school context and are respectful of this. Our role is to be there for all young people.
Our youth workers are big-hearted people who make big commitments.
We expect our youth workers to live a lifestyle of leadership for young people to follow, not just to do a job. We ask for a three-to-five year commitment from each youth worker. We look for people with impeccable character, proven ability with young people and volunteer involvement. Youth workers work 10 paid hours per week in school and also belong to a church youth community.
The activities of different workers may vary greatly. Different sports, cultural groups and activities have different schedules. Events like school balls, productions, leadership training days and individual youth guidance can take up a lot of time. But overall a youth worker’s time should average 10 hours per week over the school term.