With only 30% of Raukatauri’s annual budget covered by fee revenue, it takes a lot of time and energy from our amazing fundraising team of Rachel Farrell (Northland Regional Centre Manager and Finance & Administration Manager) and Jen Glover (Clinical and Centre Director) to seek out and apply for grants and other funding opportunities. However, every once and a while a funder approaches us and it’s always thrilling to get that call, particularly since it means that generous people who we don’t even know have heard about Raukatauri’s mahi and want to support it.
In May we introduced you to the Jassy Dean Trust who became the primary funders of Raukatauri’s services to schools on Waiheke Island. We'd now like you to meet the Withiel Fund Charitable Trust who originally contacted us about funding support in April 2021. When asked about why she chose to approach Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust, Sam Scott, founder of the Withiel Fund Charitable Trust along with her husband Marty, told us:
“Looking for a charity that integrated youth, music and education, I found the Music Helps site, which linked me to Raukatauri. I was impressed with the website, touched by the case studies - particularly that of Paul, whose story reminded us of Marty’s Mum, Moira…. and then Jen called me, and her passion, professionalism, and prompt responses to my request for funding proposals and to all my emails, has been remarkable. ”
One of the most exciting things about the initial email that we received from Sam was that it referenced supporting training for current or new music therapists. Followers of Raukatauri’s work will know that we are always recruiting new Registered Music Therapists as well as supporting Masters of Music Therapy students into the field by hosting their clinical placements. Many of these recruits and students come from Victoria University of Wellington and the University of Melbourne, two institutions that have family connections to Sam and Marty. It was decided that a grant to support students into employment would be a perfect partnership between the Withiel Fund and Raukatauri.
The Withiel Fund Charitable Trust funded the creation of a part-time Student Placement Coordinator role, which has been filled by Registered Music Therapist Olly Lowery, In order to ensure both pastoral and financial support for our students. They also designated funds that allow students to attend professional development trainings, travel to their universities for coursework, receive clinical supervision and access emergency support in the event of financial hardship. We are particularly grateful to Sam and Marty as they have recently agreed to extend this funding for a further three years and will be supporting our Masters of Music Therapy students, as well as our students on placement from the fields of Dance Movement Therapy, Creative Arts Therapy and Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, through 2025!
Olly Lowery, Registered Music Therapist and Student Placement Coordinator, with his client Daniel.
Chris O'Connor, Registered Music Therapist at Raukatauri's Auckland Music Therapy Centre, talks about how the support of the Withiel Fund Charitable Trust impacted his time as a Music Therapy Student with Raukatauri:
“I was studying towards my masters in Music Therapy across 2020 – 2022. My main income up till then had been as a freelance musician, and the prolonged COVID pandemic lock downs across this time meant it was a very precarious time financially for me. I am very grateful to the Withiel Fund Charitable Trust for providing funds to pay for my flights to and registration fee for the New Zealand Music Therapy Symposium in 2021. ”
RMTT current student line up (left to right) Alice Springford AUT Masters Student Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Avalon Hewitt Student Music Therapist, and Christian Bolland AUT Masters Student Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy
And we don’t just share a commitment to student training and employment with the Withiel Fund, we also share a love of Northland. When we were approached by Sam in 2021 we didn’t only submit a student support proposal, we also asked if they might prefer to support our early childhood work in Northland. Sam and Marty and their wonderful whānau didn’t choose between the proposals – they accepted and funded both! Their generousity has enabled our Registered Music Therapists to support two kindergartens, Raumanga Kindergarten and Manaia View Kindergarten, in particularly deprived parts of Whangārei, and also allowed one of our therapists to visit Ōhaeawai Community Preschool in the Far North. In all three early childhood centres, our therapists use music and play-based interventions to develop social skills, expressive language abilities and emotional regulation strategies.
Unsuprisingly, given the kindness and creativity with which she has approached all of her work with us, Sam went above and beyond for the kindergarten programmes. Upon hearing how cold and drafty some of our Northland sites could be in the wintertime, Sam and her quilting group made the most beautiful and colourful quilts that we have ever seen for the children to have their sessions on. We are so grateful for the love and support that the Withiel Fund Charitable Trust has shown us and are humbled by the trust and faith that they put into our work. Ngā mihi nui a kōrua!