Upper Hutt Community Youth Trust Trading as Kickstart is a Charitable Trust with a mission of realising hope for a better future for the young people of Upper Hutt.

We do this through our mission of “ To Connect and journey with young people through creating healthy spaces and experiences that enable them to discover their worth, see new possibilities for their future, and contribute positively to our community.

Kickstart was formed in 2014, out of a passion to see the rangatahi who were falling through the cracks in society have something specifically for them.

What started as a dream in 2014, with a budget of zero, and no staff has grown substantially every year, with our 2022 financial year having an annual turnover of $700k, a staff of at least 10 FTE youthworkers, youthwork bases in all our public intermediates and colleges and a reach of over 2000 young people a year through our programmes and youth centre.

We rely 100% on donations and grants to be able to do what we do, and any support is acknowledged and hugely appreciated