Hutt Valley

Overview

Life Education Trust Hutt Valley is one of the 32 community Trusts around New Zealand. The trust started in 1999 and is run by a group of dedicated, unpaid volunteers. Our Educator is a registered teacher who is a paid health specialist.

The Trust is supported financially by local businesses and community organisations.

Demand from schools in the Hutt Valley means that our classroom is fully booked every year. Our region includes the schools in Upper Hutt as far north as Plateau School and all of Lower Hutt including Wainuiomata, Eastbourne, Petone and the schools on the Western Hills.

Foundation sponsors

Our people

Patrons: Roy and Renate Savage

As the parents of four children, the Savages know the challenges in bringing up a family.  An eloquent speech by Trevor Grice in 1998 was enough to kindle Roy Savage’s interest in Life Education and he has been an active supporter ever since.  Mr Savage and his wife Renate provided the mobile classrooms for both the Hutt Valley and Nelson-Tasman Trust.  They felt it was a way of showing gratitude to both communities for their pleasant memories of earlier years there.

The couple have had a long involvement with sports including rugby, tennis and squash and along with Life Education Trust they’ve worked with other charitable causes such as theatre.  Mr Savage had a special interest in classic cars and Mrs Savage in gardening.

Sadly Mr Roy Savage passed away on 24 November 2017, a generous and humble man who has touched many lives through his many interests and especially Life Education. As well as his generous support to the Hutt Valley and Nelson Tasman Life Education Trusts he served on the National Board for 9 years.

Mrs Renate Savage has kindly agreed to continue as Patron of the Hutt Valley Life Education Trust.

Trust Chair/Secretary: Steve Graves

Steve has been involved with Life Education Trust Hutt Valley since its inception in 1998 as a Trustee and as its Secretary and Treasurer. Steve is a Director of Kendons Chartered Accountants Limited in Lower Hutt and he and his team provide the trust with many of its administrative and financial functions. He has seen the great benefits that Life Education trust provides to the primary school aged children in the region and is passionate about the cause.

Mobile Operations: Sheila Ellis

Sheila joined Life Education Trust Hutt Valley in 2000.  At the time, she had two young sons and thought that the organisations message was an important one for all families.  In the early years she was involved with managing the movement of the mobile classroom from school to school and still helps with that and with the maintenance of the classroom and also helps with fundraising.  Her two sons have grown up with the benefit of Life Education and she enjoys watching other children in the Hutt Valley have the same experience.

Fundraising: Paula Stace

Paula is originally from Manawatu however after meeting her husband Phil in London, they both decided to move back to New Zealand and settle in Wellington.  Paula currently lives in Lower Hutt.

Paula has just completed 20 years service at the ANZ Bank (Heritage NBNZ) and is Branch Manager at Lower Hutt branch and this is where her first exposure to Life Education occurred as ANZ is a major sponsor.  Paula has a young son, Jed, who was born in 2010 so the messages of Life Education have become even more interesting and relevant on how we can help our young people of today.  She is especially passionate about health, self-esteem and personal development.

Trustee: Barbara Ware

Barbara joined Life Education Trust in 2016 and enjoys supporting the Trust's work helping the children of the Hutt Valley. She has found people's faces light up when talking about Harold and are keen to share their experience.

Barbara has worked around the wider Wellington region in both the government and private sector as a researcher, writer and editor.

Trust Support: Jo Mortimer

Jo Mortimer has been teaching in the Hutt Valley since 1997. In 2008 she worked with Harold as the Life Education Hutt Valley Educator up until the end of 2014 when she decided to return to the school environment and take up a teaching position at Rata Street School.

Jo has continued her association with Life Education Hutt Valley as a Trustee. In 2017 she accepted a position with Life Education Trust National Office in the role of Programme and Development Manager.

Advisor: Margaret Radford

Margaret is the mother of 4 sons, grandmother of 6 grandchildren, 5 granddaughters and 1 grandson. She lost one son to drugs and mental illness and has experienced first-hand how mind altering substances shatter the lives of promising, bright young lives.

She is a passionate believer in the message Life Education  Trust brings to our children and has been involved in the Hutt Valley Community Trust since it began in 1998, first as a trustee involved in fundraising, then as Chairman for 9 years.

She thoroughly enjoyed her time working hard to keep the trust in the forefront of the Hutt Valley community and raising money to keep the trust on a good financial footing.

She was honoured to be awarded a Life Membership of Life Education Trust in 2013.  She is involved as an advisor for the Hutt Valley Trust.

Advisor: Brian Shearer

Brian Shearer is married to Dianne, has 4 adult children and 8 grandchildren.  He is a retired Registered Surveyor and director of a multi-disciplined consultancy. Brian was the founding Chair of Life Education Trust Hutt Valley.  His present work with Life Education is in an advisory role for the Hutt Valley Trust and he is also a representative on the National Board for LETNZ.

His community involvement has included being a Justice of the Peace, Trustee of Aroha Care Centre for the Elderly (Chair of Property Committee) and voluntary driver.

Education Support: Nigel Frater

Nigel is a school principal at Plateau School in Te Marua, Upper Hutt. We were delighted when he agreed to join the Trust in 2018. Nigel is passionate about learning and provides support for our Educator in a mentoring role to further develop and extend her teaching capabilities. Nothing seems to be problem for Nigel even when asked to be Harold in the santa parade! For Nigel time is precious, he has a family and many other roles and we greatly appreciate the time he spends helping our Educator.

Contact details

Chairperson: Steve Graves, 04 566 4399
Educator: Brooke Nightingale, 021 503 852, [email protected]