This year's RYLA candidate is Theresa Hills. Theresa is a 22 year old whose late father was a past President of the Nelson Rotary Club. Theresa is in her 2nd year training to be a nurse thru the Polytechnic.

She is very excited about attending the course and is also very keen to join Rotoract. She is looking forward to reporting back to our club on her RYLA experience.

ShelterBox New Zealand Project Request 

In May 2025 we are running a campaign that is new to Aotearoa but has seen success in Australia and Canada, called OffTheGrid.

OffTheGrid encourages Kiwis, whether it’s families or friends, individuals, schools or clubs, to get a taste of what it’s like to have no home or electricity for 24 hours. The campaign, in turn, raises money to help fund ShelterBox projects around the world and support those in need. 

OffTheGrid offers a range of challenge levels. Participants can choose an overnight lounge room or backyard camp or camp further afield with no electricity or devices.

For schools they might unplug for the school day and experience what learning is like with no electricity, learning devices, or even a classroom - a reality many face when disaster strikes.

Schools participating can leverage the children’s learnings off the challenge – exploring geography, what life is like in other countries and discover the hardships faced by countries affected by conflict and natural disaster.

We are keen to get as many schools and groups involved in 2025. We don’t want to make it a difficulty for anyone to participate, so have chosen the entire month of May to allow schools and groups to choose a date that works for them to run the challenge. I’m hoping that Rotary Clubs will get behind this challenge and support ShelterBox in a unique and fun way.

You can also check out our OffTheGrid website here - https://offthegrid2025.raiselysite.com/ 

If nothing else, it would mean the world if you might promote the challenge amongst your school networks so families may take it up in their own time.