Churchill Private Hospital Trust offers Community donations to eligible groups within the Marlborough region, through an application process. As part of this programme we will be highlighting some of the initiatives that have benefited from Churchill’s support. Applicants from local groups and clubs can apply for funding from Churchill to support their work or event which directly benefits the health and wellbeing of the Marlborough community.
Promoting active lifestyles is an important part of Churchill’s culture because it benefits the health of the community. That’s why we choose to sponsor a range of sporting ventures that build activity in future generations. One local sporting initiative that Churchill has been able to support through the Community Grants scheme is Kaha Academy.
Originally established in 2022, Kaha is a basketball Academy that seeks to give rangitahi in Wairau (Marlborough) the opportunity to develop within their sport. A non-profit organisation, Kaha’s kaupapa is to support the development of rangatahi residing in Wairau not only as athletes, but as people; providing greater access to opportunities in basketball; while developing them as connected, involved leaders for the future.
Development with Kaha sees players exposed to elite training opportunities, cultural and personal growth otherwise not often available at club level. Attending tournaments both in NZ and overseas is an important part of this development and involves trials and selection for traveling teams.
With an age requirement of 14 by travel and an upper limit of 18, the Academy have been able to capture youth of an age ideal for undertaking leadership roles in sport whilst being confident enough to travel without their parents.
Kaha is values based organisation, so players are selected not only on their basketball skills but also undergo values testing. Four core values of the team before self, courage, respect and resilience were developed by the players themselves.
Kaha’s first international trip brought the successful athletes to LA in April 2023, just 6 months after the academy was established. That was a pilot team. This year, 22 young basketballers left Marlborough to embark on an immersive trip to play in Japan.
Parent and committee member, Anna Thomas says that the trip was very successful but very intense.
“Japanese are very skilled, drilled, fast and physical. So it’s a different level of intensity.”
Anna has enjoyed seeing the growth of the players skill and interest plus the vibe within the teams, particularly in the youngest.
“The cultural impact on the boys has been huge.” Anna says.
“Some of the kids have never left Marlborough, so a two week tournament in a place like Japan has sparked a bit of wanderlust. Both from traveling to and then experiencing a completely different culture, as well as experiencing basketball within that different culture.”
Churchill’s support this year has aided the provision of gear and equipment for the players such as ball bags, training tops and hoodies.
“It’s been amazing, just having that community support. It also helped us with getting our coaches along to the international trip.”
Planning is already well underway for next year’s trip with the goal of continuing to grow the culture of the academy and allow the formation of a girls squad to travel too.
You can learn more about Churchill’s Community Grants here.
