Youth Foundation announces new appointment

Media release 5 April 2007

Foundation for Youth Development announces new appointment

Jo-anne Wilkinson (LLB) Co-founder and Executive Trustee for Foundation for Youth Development (FYD), has been appointed as Executive Director of FYD and will assume overall management responsibilities for all key functions.

FYD founded as Project K in 1994 by Graeme Dingle and Jo-anne Wilkinson, is a leader in the field of youth development in New Zealand. Providing young people from age 5 to 18 with the opportunity to build self-confidence, and learn valuable life skills by participating in unique development programmes. Current programmes include Project K, Stars and Kiwi Can.

Project K and Stars were developed to assist young people achieve at secondary school level, and in 2006 the highly successful primary school programme Kiwi Can was brought under the umbrella of FYD. With this change in structure the Board considered that it would be best to streamline operations and the management of FYD’s three programmes.

Previously as Executive Trustee and National Manager for Stars, Jo-anne managed day to day legal matters, offered mentoring and worked with licensees across the country. Her new appointment will involve providing leadership and direction to all programmes and national support office, as well as achieving annual programme and licensing objectives, financial management, complying with legal and policy requirements and ensuring achievement of all annual plan objectives.

“In accepting this position I considered how far we had brought the organisation in just 13 years – from zero to about 15,000 young people in programmes. With the FYD team and my skills and institutional knowledge we can proceed through to the next stage – to a position of consolidation and sustainability while actively progressing planning.

The organisation must be able to go from strength to strength when Graeme Dingle and I step back in a few years.” Wilkinson says.

FYD’s programmes are delivered by 24 regional trusts throughout New Zealand and more than 700 people are contracted, employed or acting in voluntary capacities. This year nationally, FYD will raise around $7m to put young people through programmes. This will increase to $14m when 22,000 young people will be in a programme – which is FYD’s goal for 2010. “So it’s a significant business growing everyday” Wilkinson says.

It is conservatively estimated that FYD programmes add more than $300m to the New Zealand economy.

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