The Vision Begins
Erin McMenimin saw a need for young people to learn basic housekeeping skills & noticed unemployed women with life skills, a willingness to share and a desire to give back to their local community.
The Beginning
Horowhenua SuperGrans was born. Erin contacted Pat smith in Levin, and they started what was initially known as Anchor SuperGrans for the Horowhenua Region. Supported by 5 board members and a small team of 4 volunteers.
It began as a 1:1 service
Growing
In 1999 the service grew from individual working to include the general community and other organisations. The first community-based courses were cooking and home care, building food skills, promoting good hygiene and boosting confidence while recognising the value of older poeple.
Registered & Recognised
In April 1999, Horowhenua SuperGrans became registered with the Companies Office under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957.
Funding was secured from variuous sources to reach more poeple in the community.
A New Chapter
At the end of 1999 Pat left Horowhenua SuperGrans and Rose Cotter joined the team. By 2003 the service had grown immensely and Kim Bradnock Joined Rose in 2004.
Expanding Our Services
We launched Supervised Contact for non-custodial parents and children. We identified a gap in parenting support and partnered with the Ministry of Education to deliver the Incredible Years Parenting Programme.
Adapting, Growing & Leading
Our services grew, from cooking and home skills to budgeting, crafts, community gardening and more - our services grew with the support of mentors, volunteers and professionally trained staff.
Skills4Living is Born!
To reflect the growth, diversity and impact of our services, it was agreed that our name needed to change.
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Skills4Living was Born!
Mission
MISSION STATEMENT
"To be an integral part of a community that has the flexibility to respond to the need of individuals and whanau.”.
Vision
VISION STATEMENT
"To benefit the Horowhenua and Otaki community by providing life skills education and a range of support services for individuals and families.”
Our Values
These values are more than just words on paper. Our values guide our business and help Skills 4 Living achieve its vision, mission, goals and objectives in partnership with our clients and our community.
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Our six core values are:
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Relationships – Build trusted, respectful and transparent relationships
Community relations are the ‘food for the soul’ of Skills 4 Living. Building and maintaining strong relationships is a key aspect of our business, and a fundamental ingredient for the health of our organisation.
As a core strategy, it allows Skills 4 Living to attract and retain top employees and board members, positions Skills 4 Living among clients, customers and stakeholders, increasingly improves our position in the market and in our community, boosts our bottom line through positive, proactive connections with our community.
Accessible – We are accessible to all
Being accessible to all is a direction encompassing three key drivers- addressing needs, meeting future demand, ensuring services are fit-for-purpose.
This strategic intent focuses our energies on progressing our priorities to ensure we:
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have the right environment - the community has access to fit-for-purpose facilities.
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support our people to operate and deliver services, projects and programmes to meet the aspirations and needs of community.
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focus our work on addressing the current and future needs of our clients, stakeholders, and community.
Resilient – we develop creative solutions and are adaptable
We help our clients to improve their life skills and adapt to change. We work with our stakeholders and the community to develop innovative and responsive services and programmes
We plan to react effectively when business and environmental factors change unexpectedly. We adjust our approach or actions in response to these changes. We learn from our experiences and mistakes, and continually add value to our clients, stakeholders and the community.
Integrity – We keep our word
We, as leaders, know that honesty and integrity are the foundations of working with grass roots community. We do the right thing, at the right time to get the best results.
Sustainable – We value people and resources
We support the ability of our clients and community to develop processes and structures, which not only meet current needs but also support the ability of future generations to maintain a healthy community. We do this by:
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Working with the whole system – clients, community and other organisations
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Leading by example through our services and operations
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Encouraging learning within our organisation and sharing knowledge and experience with clients, other organisations and the community
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Interacting responsibly with the environment - using household resources to reduce waste, create household savings and build healthy independent lives.​
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Life Long Learning – Creating the ability to learn
We continually work to develop a strong and positive learning culture for our clients, staff and the community.