Our History
The YWCA has had a presence in Wellington since 1906. By the 1920s, the Wellington YWCA was running three hostels - on 6 Macdonald Crescent, Brougham Street and Boulcott Terrace. Additional hostels were opened in Lower Hutt, Willis Street and Oriental Parade. The hostels were a frequent entry point for young wāhine who had left their rural homes seeking a better life in the bigger cities.
One of these young women was Pixie Williams - the singer of the iconic New Zealand song, Blue Smoke. Pixie’s YWCA hostel roommate introduced Pixie to song writer Ruru Karaitiana who was looking for someone to give voice to what became New Zealand’s first national and international hit.
In 1990, to participate in the growing movement to honor Te Tiriti o Waitangi, YWCA Wellington created the Māori Women Transfer Fund. The purpose of the fund was to provide financial support to initiatives that benefited wāhine Māori in the Wellington region. It was considered “a small move towards restoring to Māori women a fraction of all that has been taken over the past 150 years”.
While the community surrounding YWCA Wellington was strong, during the global financial crisis of the late 2000s the fundraising efforts were hard hit. In 2014, it was decided to wind up the organisation in order to protect the remaining Māori Women Transfer Fund. The hope remained that in better years to come the YWCA Wellington could restart and continue its mission to empower the young women of our region.
In 2019, Camille Wrightson took on the challenge and in 2022, the YWCA Wellington Board reconvened. YWCA of Greater Wellington, now called Y Wellington, has gone from strength to strength thanks to the dedication of women who fanned the flames and then passed on the torch.
Meet the Board
Meghan Hughes is a software development manager and product designer who is passionate about equality and diversity in the NZ tech sector. She previously worked for the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance and did a stint as the Island Keeper of Kaumautaurua/Quarantine Island in the Dunedin Harbour.
Asena Tolungamaka is pursuing a career in public policy leadership, motivated by the desire to add value to the Pasifika communities in Aotearoa by making sure their voices are heard and needs are addressed. Asena's Pacific heritage and love for her community are key driving forces in her desire to positively impact the world.
Natalia Fareti is Director Policy at Toitū Te Whenua, Land Information New Zealand, Deputy Chair of the Government Economics Network, Co-Chair of the Wellington City Council’s Pacific Advisory Group and a Board member of the Wellington Pasifika Business Network.
Heeni Tito is a software engineer at Sharesies, and is keen to support more women, Māori and Pasifika to pursue careers in tech. She has been in tech for 7 years - previously teaching in secondary schools. She is also a trustee for Digital Wings who donate quality IT equipment to charities and community organisations.
Tahnee Le Pine is co-owner of Twofold Design, working with those who are committed to leaving the world better than they found it. She was a founding member of the Gender Justice Collective and a key contributor to the Mind the Gap pay equity campaign.
Anndivya Ram (she/her) is a first-generation, NZ-born Samoan-Indian wahine. Anndi is a strategy analyst, artist and founder of Migrant Maharanis, a zine dedicated to the South Asian diaspora. Anndi is passionate about creating safe spaces and empowering all women. She also brings with her a focus on diversity and intersectionality.
Dr Brittany Stanley-Wishart is a qualified doctor in psychiatry, as well as the youngest trustee for Malologa Ltd, a teacher and mentor, has a podcast and runs a blog. She also facilitates workshops and seminars, to provide tools to regulate distress, maximise confidence and enable self-empowerment.
The E Hine Fund - 2024 Applications Closed
Applying for grants is often a difficult and time-consuming task which means plenty of deserving groups and individuals aren’t getting the support they need.
Y Wellington pioneer Camille Wrightson summed up the reason the E Hine exists:
“I saw how groups struggled to get even small amounts of funding without significant paperwork and obligations, and I started thinking about how the Y could make that easier. A turning point was when a high school student emailed me to ask where she could obtain $1800 for students at their sister teen-parent school to come to their school ball. I realised this type of funding didn’t exist in Wellington: small amounts of money, with low barriers to entry, to facilitate small good things for young women.”
What does E Hine fund? The sole purpose of the E Hine Fund is to support initiatives that empower girls and young women in the Greater Wellington region. Building on the legacy of the Māori Women’s Transfer Fund, 50% of available funds in each round will be dedicated to initiatives impacting wāhine Māori.
How much money is available? Each year the fund distributes about $10,000. We very rarely award more than $2,000 to any single recipient and the average distributed amount over the last two years of the fund is about $1,100.
Do I have to be a young woman to apply? No! As long as you or your organisation have an initiative that will positively impact young women in the Greater Wellington region, you are welcome to apply!
Some of our past recipients
Ora Toa Primary Health Organisation is a not-for-profit dental clinic that received funds from E Hine to provide low cost dental care to Māori and Pacific women in Cannons Creek.
Kathryn Ford was awarded funds to purchase supplies for her initiative to bake birthday cakes for women and children at Wellington Women’s Refuge and Te Whare Rokiroki in Porirua.
Phoebe-Rose Sullivan received funds from E Hine to support her participation in a haerenga about indigenous entrepreneurship and business, and how indigenous people can build economic success for our communities.
Porirua Living Without Violence Services is a community-based organisation commitment to enabling the community to live life free from family violence. The E Hine fund assisted with the “Help Yourself” trolley initiative which provided tamariki attending the programme to access basic sanitary and hygiene products for free.
Riley Anslow was a recipient of the E Hine fund to contribute to her travel expenses to attend the World Supremacy Battlegrounds Hip Hop competition in Sydney where she qualified to represent NZ as a soloist.
2024 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
Contact Us
If you have any questions please get in touch with us at wellingtonywca@gmail.com or message us on our Instagram