Blue brightest colour of the rainbow for Kawerau

Kawerau youth enjoying a day out a Rainbow’s End thanks to Blue Light. Image:John Selkirk/Fairfax Media

An excited group of 60 Kawerau youth were let loose at Rainbow's End theme park last Sunday, courtesy of New Zealand Blue Light.

The youth were one group among 2000 plus to attend, with each group organised and supported by their local Blue Light Branch, of which there are 65 nationally.

Blue Light is a registered charity that works in partnership with the police to deliver an extensive range of youth programmes and activities. It aims to reduce youth crime through prevention and to build positive relationships between the police, young people, their whanau and the community.

'Many of the youth attending our Rainbow's End Fun Days are from disadvantaged families and the sponsored day out is the trip of a lifetime. We are very thankful for the generosity of our many sponsors and Blue Light volunteers whom have enabled us to significantly reduce the cost of the trip,” says Warren Sloss, Blue Light National Programmes Manager.

Students are nominated by their schools, often for leadership and community service through roles such as road patrols and school counsellors. Many have never been to Rainbow's End.

While the youth played hard and built up an appetite, Blue Light members and AA Insurance volunteers kept the food flowing with a non-stop BBQ.

'I love the Rainbows End Fun Days, everyone has a laugh watching officers get drenched on the Bumper Boats or looking a bit woozy after the rides and the kids were absolutely buzzing,” says Rod Bell, Blue Light CEO.

Plenty of uniformed officers and Blue Light volunteers were on hand to supervise.

Blue Light has grown exponentially since its humble beginnings, and so had demand for its programmes. The highly successful Youth Driver Navigator pilot, supporting young people to obtain their full driver's license, is currently being expanded across the Bay of Plenty.

Excitement is also building for the inaugural Under 15 Games with sports like Netball, Rugby, Futsal and Golf to be held on November 28 till November 30.

In June, Blue Light received an Outstanding Youth Champion Award at the New Zealand Youth Awards.

'The programmes play an important part in building genuine partnerships between New Zealand Police and young people, which is an integral part of the New Zealand Police's Prevention First Strategy,” says Mike Bush, Commissioner, New Zealand Police.

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