Recipients

Destiny (Ngā Puhi) is a talented young singer, actor and performer who joined the whānau at Glass Ceiling Arts Collective when she was 14.

Project Jonah is New Zealand’s dedicated marine mammal welfare charity and has been saving whales and protecting marine life since 1974. In celebration of their 50th anniversary, they launched the innovative Walkthrough Whale Programme, an engaging, educational resource designed to inspire a new generation of ocean advocates. The program features an inflatable, life-sized humpback whale […]

Thanks to generous funding of the Bobby Stafford Bush Foundation, we have been able to purchase a new van to support the delivery of our surf therapy programmes.

I am a 14 year old freestyle park scooter rider and have competed in national competitions for over 2 years. I train daily, think about learning new tricks, my flow and progression. I am very proud and passionate and have lots of fun riding and it’s a great way to keep fit, build friendships and keep mentally healthy.

The Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade wishes to acknowledge the support received from the Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation. With your support we have been able to purchase the training dummy used in the toughest 2 minutes in sport.

SEA CLEANERS mission is to be the foremost environmental campaign in New Zealand, committed to safely eliminating rubbish from New Zealand’s waterways and coastlines, while inspiring global behavioural change to stop waste from entering our oceans. We take the community with us, and we are proud to be partnered with the Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation. We […]

Growing up I always loved sports and the sense of community they created. I found myself gravitating to the water over my young sporting life. And that's where I found my passion of Swimming and Surf Lifesaving. I have recently been selected into the German Cup NZ Black Fins team to go and compete in Germany.

I’ve grown up around fire stations as my mum is a retired firefighter in the UK, with some of my youngest memories being at her station and around firefighters. I am a Volunteer Senior Firefighter at Queenstown Fire Brigade and have dedicated 8 years to responding to calls and training new recruits. Firefighting is something […]

Thank you so much as a start for meeting me and supporting me financially with more coaching. I have loved horses from a very young age and it has for a long time been my passion to be an international eventer.

The Future Problem Solving programme has allowed me to discover new ways of looking at the future from my own unique perspective, as well as allowing me to improve my creative writing skills. I’ve always loved looking at changes in the environment and making predictions about it, so when I was introduced to Scenario Writing I was immediately hooked.

Since discovering the FPS program in 2020, I have been encapsulated with applying a problem-solving mentality to combat important issues in my life, school and wider community. Being at the ‘centre of change’ is something that, since a young age, I have always found fulfilling and enjoyed, throughout my education journey in particular, engaging myself […]

From a young age, I participated in a range of different sports, but it was when I started kayaking that I found my sporting passion. I was first introduced to kayaking in 2017 when I began paddling with the North Shore Canoe Club on Lake Pupuke. I feel so fortunate that this sport has provided […]

The Glass Ceiling Arts Collective is a new Arts charity which supports people from marginalised communities, with a major focus on young people with disabilities.

Sailing is a sport that we both live and breathe. Having been involved in the sport of over 10 years, competing at junior levels indiviudally and a part of different teams, in March 2022 we began an olympic campaign together.

We are twin sisters, 22, who sail competitively in the 49er FX sailing class. We grew up sailing optimists from the age of 10, then we teamed up to sail the 420 class throughout our youth sailing years. After attending the Youth World Championships together, we moved into the Olympic 470 class where we put together our first attempt at an Olympic Campaign.

Athletics has been a major part of my life since the age of three, with the decathlon becoming my sole sporting focus for the past 8 years. I have never been someone to overly excel in one particular area, which is why the challenge of the decathlon drew me in – attempting to perfect 10 […]

My names Jordan Bolland, I am 24 year old sprinter based in Auckland. Athletics has always been a big part of my life and my love for the sport has grown more and more over the years. While balancing full time work and an aspiring athletics career can be an extremely hard job the foundation […]

Ko Ngatokimatawhaorua toku waka Ko Taukahawai te awa Ko pukehuia raua ko pukehaua oku maunga Ko Ngati Hau raua ko Ngati Kaharau nga hapu Ko Ngapuhi toku Iwi Ko Reihana Maxwell-Topia toku ingoa Basketball has allowed me to truly grow into the person I am today and without it, I would not have been able […]

When I was younger I always enjoyed the musical atmosphere - though when I hit 11 I instantly fell in love with Ice Skating. Ice skating to me involves not only sport but music. It's a way to express yourself and your desires to show the world who you are and what you want to become.

The Manta Watch project was set up in late 2017 and became a charitable trust in early 2020, with the vision of a sustainable future for Aotearoa's manta and devil rays. Therefore, our mission is to foster knowledge of and advocacy for Aotearoa’s offshore ecosystems through research, conservation, and education.

LegaSea believes it is critical to teach the next generation of kiwi kids how to respect and care for the biodiversity of marine life within our shores. The objective is to give our tamariki an interactive game they can play with their whanau. The cards have 13 local species that are commonly found in our coastal waters, it has additional information on each card about the species.

I’ve always been inspired by many of our talented New Zealand authors such as Lynley Dodd and Joy Cowely, as well as popular international authors like Julia Donaldson. Like them, I write to entertain and teach. What I gain from putting pen to paper is enjoyment, healing and personal growth.

Huge thanks to the The Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation for supporting our kaupapa when we kicked off in the early days of Kai Ika. They so generously provided us with a refrigerated truck to undertake our logistical mahi of transporting chilled fish heads and frames.

Having been involved in athletics now for almost 20 years, it has made up a large part of my life. As a kid, I participated in an array of different sports growing up, but it was always sprinting that I was most passionate about. Typical of any young kiwi aspiring to excel in their sport, […]

It is my mission to help ensure the Pacific does not end up like the Caribbean or the Mediterranean, over-fished and over-polluted. At 16, I decided to become a marine biologist. This came as a surprise to my teachers as I lived in Queenstown. However, I attended the University of Otago and completed a BSc […]

Ko Callum Prime ahau Ko Motatau te maunga Ko Kaitoki te awa Ko Waimahae te marae Ko Ngati Hine te iwi I first found the love for this sport when I was 10 at my first learn to swim school based out of a small backyard pool with three other boys my age. My passion […]

From ‘Energy of the Future’ to ‘The Global Status of Women’, I am passionate about solving global issues and challenging our perception of the world we live in. Currently in Year 12 at Burnside High School, I am fortunate enough to be Head Girl of West Division. For the last eight years, I have been […]

When I was extremely young I fell in love with playing football, and ever since then my passion for the sport has only grown stronger. I have always had a goal of representing my country, and this goal continues to motivate me and encourage me to take every opportunity that arises. I have been a […]

I first represented New Zealand at the Pacific School Games in 2008 as a 13 year old competing in the 100m, 200m, and 400m. This was an amazing experience that inspired me to work even harder and set goals to reach the highest level in the sport. I continued to run as well as play […]

When I was 11 years old, I began Scouts as I’d always loved adventures. There I had the opportunity to have so many amazing experiences with the friends I made. I loved kayaking, tramping, swimming, biking and so much more at Scouts. Once I turned 14 I was excited to finally move up to Venturers, […]

I grew up playing sport through primary school. I loved being in a team with my friends and running as fast as I possibly could. But as I got older, my disability, Spina Bifida made sport really difficult. My legs couldn’t keep up anymore and it was beginning to get into the too hard basket. […]

From the beginning of my childhood being active through sport was always a huge part of my life. Whether it is playing Basketball, Football or Rugby I constantly was the most competitive person on every team I played in. Being born in Australia and moving to New Zealand at the age of six, I was […]

Based out of Wellington I am a 21-year-old middle distance runner, aiming to reach the highest level of the sport. Throughout my childhood sport was a massive part of my life whether it was hockey, cycling or running. During college I always played several sports, but It wasn’t until 2016 that I realised I wanted […]

In February 2014 I began competitive sailing, it was during this time that I discovered my love for spending time on the water with my friends learning how to make our boats go fast and in the right direction. At my first nationals 10 weeks later, I came 109th and came away eager to improve […]

Live for More Charitable Trust is based in Tauranga in the beautiful Bay of Plenty. Live for More uses surf therapy to engage troubled young people/rangatahi who are caught up in lifestyles of crime and drug/alcohol abuse. These young people need someone to believe in them so they can learn to believe in themselves. Live […]

Ko Mitchell Dance ahau. Ko Rangipoua te maunga. Ko Haparapara te awa. Ko Te whanau a Rutaia a te hapu. Ko Te whanau a Apanui to iwi. Thank you for the tremendous support for a sport that I am truly dedicated and passionate about. I started playing basketball when I was 10. I was a […]

I never grew up watching the Olympics or the Commonwealth games, growing up I just played sports I loved. Always encouraged by my parents, always supported. Somehow on the path to a netball career or doing athletics I became involved in Olympic weightlifting. Over the years I fell in love with weightlifting, retired from all […]

Young Ocean Explorers started in 2013. Initially Father and daughter duo, Steve and Riley Hathaway filmed 20 episodes for the popular kids series ‘What Now’. The aim was to inspire kids about how phenomenal NZ’s underwater world is. Now they have a popular online platform, www.youngoceanexplorers.com with hours of unique underwater content from around Aotearoa, […]

Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me and for helping towards sponsoring me financially, you have given me the opportunity to fulfill a goal of mine through your generous support. My journey began by being invited to attend a trial for New Zealand Under 16 Basketball Team back in […]

Over 15 years ago I was introduced to athletics where I first discovered my real passion for the sport. Right from a young age it had always been evident I had potential to pursue the sport further into my adolescent years which saw me eventually give up all other sport in the attempt to pursue […]

When I was 7 years old, Dad and I were watching the Athens Olympics when we came across a women’s K1 500m race. I watched the race and thought to myself “I can do that”, even though I didn’t know what the sport was called and had no idea how to get into it. I […]

I was lucky enough to be supported by the foundation to chase my dream of sprinting at the Olympics games and although I did not succeed in getting to the Olympics I had an amazing journey where I experienced a whole new world and gained knowledge unobtainable on New Zealand shores. A last minute opportunity […]

EMR is a national programme of experiential learning about marine conservation. As an extension of EMR’s programme with schools, EMR developed the free Community Guided Snorkel Days. Support from the Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation has allowed EMR to expand the Community Guided Snorkel Day events into new areas in Auckland such as Matheson’s Bay and Long […]

My name is Emily Scott. I am 25 and I am currently a Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with New Zealand Opera. I feel very privileged that the foundation is supporting my journey, this means a great deal to me. In 2014 I graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Voice Performance from […]

Cinzah is a visual artist, creative problem solver, and a commercial illustrator. He has been working within the creative industry for the past 8 years, and has decided to dedicate the rest of his life to avoiding working within the ‘real job’ stratosphere. He is currently in the early stages of establishing a long term […]

The vision of Sea Cleaners, is to preserve New Zealand’s Coastline for the benefit of the marine life and for the enjoyment of all users. Our long term strategy is to educate people, particularly our young people, to dispose of their rubbish in eco-friendly ways, including recycling, and so not to harm the environment. We […]

Houston is a teenager with a serious passion for dance. Her recent success at the World Hip Hop International Championships in Las Vegas, America, was the culmination of hundreds of hours of training and preparation. Representing New Zealand at the World Championships was a dream come true for Houston and her crew ‘Duchesses’ finishing 2nd […]

Project Jonah is an animal welfare charity that provides emergency response to stranded whales and dolphins Throughout New Zealand. They empower local communities by training members of the public to become Marine Mammal Medics and help save lives. Project Jonah campaigns for greater protection of marine mammals and presents to schools and colleges to grow […]

Young Ocean Explorers actually came about through Riley’s school project! She produced, well…..actually “we” produced!! an interview with a turtle expert about the issue of sea turtles eating plastic. Using my underwater footage cut together with her interview, everyone at her school loved it! Seeing the response of so many kids, my mind started reeling […]

To Paddy, Brian and Shaun, Thank you so much for sponsoring me. It would have been very difficult without your financial support. I had the most amazing time in the Gold Coast. I wish I could have stayed much much longer. While I was over in Australia with my team we trained every single day […]

Since 2002, programme uptake has continued to increase throughout the country and EMR has held an annual competition trip to the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve for representative students from each school that participates in the EMR programme (for Northland and Auckland Schools only). Support from the Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation has allowed participation in 2015 […]

Brazilian professor Paulo Teles had his wish fulfilled during October when he got the opportunity to bring his extraordinary arts and multimedia Wishing Tree project to New Zealand. Dr Teles, who is with the Multimedia, Media and Social Communication Department in the Art Institute at the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, had already taken his […]

Good news our legs survived!! Thank you so much for pledging your support for Adaptive Snow sports up at the Remarkables. We ended up doing a total of 35 laps skiing on one ski in 3 hours! Meaning we raised around $2500 which is an amazing effort!!! These funds are going to be used to […]

I am an up and coming New Zealand track and field athlete specialising in the 100m & 200m. At the start of this year I was privileged enough to have the Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation support me to help further my athletics career. Without their support I wouldn’t have been able to compete in a number […]

I am currently pursuing my goals in the sport of athletics. The start of this process begins later this year and a large chunk in 2017. I am beginning my plans early however as I want to be highly prepared and leave no stone turned from here on out as I begin to try and […]

I arrived home this morning from my trip away to Chile for the Junior World Cup with the New Zealand U21 team. I had an incredible time and have made memories that will last a lifetime. I just want to say a huge thank you again for making the incredible opportunity a reality, it was […]