Giving altitude to schoolkid support
Ted Culley is either a sucker for punishment or a passionate supporter of the wellbeing of Marlborough kids.
Last weekend, Sanford’s general manager of aquaculture jumped from 20,000 feet (6090 metres) in a fundraiser for the Graeme Dingle Foundation’s Kiwi Can programme.
While jumping out of a plane to freefall for 85 seconds ‘‘isn’t on the bucket list’’, with the help of Motueka-based Skydive Abel Tasman, Culley went through with his tandem effort to ensure the organisation benefited from a $30,000 fundraising boost.
‘‘The hands haven’t stopped shaking,’’ Culley said.
‘‘I only started thinking about it on the drive over and then it started to build until you get on the airplane and it becomes exhilaration. The shuffle from the seat to the door is probably the hardest two metres of my life – the heart was pumping – but once you’re out, it’s great.’’
Last Saturday’s skydive was not the first time Culley has taken to the air in support of the Graeme Dingle Foundation.
In 2013, he abseiled off a Blenheim car park building as part of a ‘‘drop your boss’’ initiative, which was followed up with his first skydive for the cause in 2015.
Meeting the jump requirements also required Culley to lose 12 kilograms during lockdown.
Culley easily exceeded his target – eventually shedding 20kgs.
Graeme Dingle Foundation is a nationwide charity that promotes positive child and youth development and currently works with more than 27,000 five to 18-year-olds throughout New Zealand.
Marlborough regional manager Kelvin Watt said the local Kiwi Can programme taught skills such as resilience, integrity and positive relationships to primary aged-children during weekly in-class sessions.
‘‘These are messages that are getting out to around 60 per cent of Marlborough schoolchildren – in 14 schools – strategies to do the right thing, even when no-one’s watching.’’
Started in 2014 with 350 kids in the programme, this year the numbers have grown to 2500 each week in schools between Havelock and Ward.
Around 300 secondary school students are also involved with peer mentoring and career-based programmes run by the foundation.
With the demand for the programme increasing, so too is the need for funds to deliver the lessons throughout the region.
Watt said the organisation was ‘‘99 per cent’’ funded from within the Marlborough region, with about a third of that by corporate sponsorship, including Sanford.
Another 25 per cent came from fundraising initiatives like the drop for youth one Culley participated in.
‘‘It’s people like Ted that make a massive difference with what we’re able to do – he’s an amazing guy,’’ Watt said.
‘‘Ever since then, he keeps asking me ‘what are you going to get me to do next?’ But I’ll keep him in suspense a bit longer before I hit him up again.’’