Waging war against child poverty
Growing up in a family of teachers, Matt Wallbank was exposed to some of the struggles that many children face in poverty-stricken neighbourhoods around Waikato.
Wallbank recalls his dad, then deputy principal at a decile 1 school, coming home and talking about families strapped for cash, unable to afford food for their little ones, let alone basic stationery and clothing.
With these memories, and what he witnessed throughout his school years, still imprinted in his mind, the 24-year-old has created a new charity, The Starter Foundation.
With an initial goal to provide stationery and items of clothing to every new entrant at a yet-tobe-decided Waikato primary school with a decile rating below five, he hopes this is just the beginning to giving all children ‘‘equal opportunities’’.
‘‘Mum and Dad and both my grandparents have all had a career in the education industry,’’ Wallbank said.
His mum taught at Argyle Preschool and his dad used to be the deputy principal of Crawshaw School. His grandma taught at Silverdale School, Te Kura Kaupapa Ma¯ ori o Te Ara Rima and Insoll Avenue School. His grandad was a teacher at Te Kuiti High School and then became a PE adviser throughout Waikato and King Country.
‘‘My grandparents in particular were real drivers in making me understand how privileged I am.
‘‘I’ve always had everything I’ve needed plus some spare change. I’ve never been in a position where my learning and my life has been compromised by financial difficulty, but I know a lot of people don’t have that opportunity.’’
The Child Poverty Monitor Technical Report 2020 shows 150,000 kids experience ‘‘material hardship’’ in New Zealand, or one in five children.
Material hardship means children live in households unable to afford six or more essential items, including having enough to eat, fresh vegetables, and warm clothes. About a quarter of children live in damp and sometimes mouldy homes, and children living in areas with the highest levels of deprivation are twice as likely to end up in hospital than children in the least deprived areas.
While Wallbank’s career hasn’t aligned with his family history – he’s an accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers – he’s always wanted to help young people.
For the first lot of fundraising, Wallbank will attempt the 4x4x48 challenge, which involves running 4 miles (6.4km), every four hours, for 48 hours – just over 77km in total.
With Wallbank due to compete in the Hawke’s Bay Half Marathon in four weeks, he hopes it will ease him into the longer run. With the proceeds gained from the challenge, he plans to focus on one Hamilton school’s new entrant roll first and build from there.
‘‘I want to start by buying each entrant kid all their stationery from their stationery list and school jerseys.
‘‘The warm factor will be important in the coming months, and unfortunately it’s often something missed because it’s so expensive.’’
Golfer Denzel Ieremia has also got onboard with the charity, donating $25 per birdie and $50 per eagle over the course of the All Pro Tour tournament in America; Black Caps Mitchell Santner and BJ Watling will also auction off an hour of coaching for the cause; and athletes David Nyika, Tim Seifert, Glenn Phillips and Sam Winders have lent their support as well. Wallbank also wants to apply for grant funding.