Torpedo7 is proud of the ongoing community partnership with the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoors Education Trust. Together we aim to give less fortunate kiwi kids, who might not otherwise have the opportunity, the chance to grow through adventure and outdoor learning experiences. These can often be life-changing for the individual, building skills and resilience with a positive flow-on effect to their school, family and community life.
Hillary Outdoors Mission:
Hillary Outdoors Education Trust
Hillary Outdoors is a charitable trust and not-for-profit organisation that provides outdoor education primarily to young people. Established in 1972 by Graeme Dingle and with Sir Edmund Hillary as patron, Hillary Outdoors, originally named Outdoor Pursuits Centre (OPC), opened its first centre beside the Tongariro National Park.
Today, they operate across two centres, the original Tongariro site in an alpine environment and a newer marine centre on Aotea Great Barrier Island. They have also grown to encompass tertiary and corporate training programmes.
Hillary Outdoors has been creating life-changing outdoor learning experiences for over 50 years, empowering youth to do extraordinary things – by growing through adventure and connecting through participation.
Sharing our passion
We wholeheartedly believe in the far-reaching benefits of team work, physical activity and facing personal challenges through adventures. As staff at Torpedo7, we live and breathe the outdoors and want to give others the opportunity to experience it too. Growing up, most of us have been privileged to have had an environment and culture that has encouraged this, giving us a love of the outdoors and enriching our lives through travel and adventure. It ́s become a way of life for us and we ́ve built friendships, communities, marriages and more through our experiences!
Our partnership with Hillary Outdoors is an opportunity to share this way of life with others. Because the area of greatest need is often also the area of least affordability, our partnership with Hillary Outdoors will focus on youth from lower decile schools, giving them the chance to take on the outdoors, build life skills and experience personal growth.
We invite you to help us raise funds to send more children to Hillary Outdoors - an invaluable and often life changing experience. For every $10K of funding provided by Torpedo7, an additional 10 young New Zealanders can attend a Hillary Outdoors programme.
Make a difference
Through donations, Torpedo7 invests in youth which allows them to participate in outdoor education at Hillary Outdoors.
Results indicate that where self-efficacy, confidence and resilience are low, participation on a Hillary Outdoors programme has the potential to make a profound impact on youth and further their development and identity.
It costs $1,000 to send a student to Hillary Outdoors because of the high level of safety, insurance, instruction and audits that Hillary Outdoors must undertake to ensure they are providing the highest level of safety and training.
With Torpedo7's support, young people, who face funding barriers, are able to attend outdoor education programmes and participate in regional events at a minimal cost.
Our yearly goal is to help 750 kids access a Hillary Outdoors programme.
