What is Happening at Shine

More than 90 people rolled against domestic violence in the inaugural Shine Bowlathon on the evening of Sunday 25th August at the Extreme Wairau bowling lanes. It was a fun evening with pizza, prizes and plenty of fun.

And together with the support of generous family, friends and colleagues, our bowlers collectively raised more than $11,000! This will help an incredible 47 families escape domestic violence. Thank you so much!
Congratulations to the following winners - individuals and teams who gave outstanding performances… 

Top Fundraising Team: Browns Bay Bowlers

Top Fundraiser: Anna H. from Starship Strikes Back

Top Fundraiser (unique donations): Annu Kaushik

Top Bowler: Seta Vaka

Best Worst Bowler: Lucy James

Best Team Name: Pretty Poisons

Best Team Costume:

1st  Starship Strikes Back

2nd Pretty Poisons

3rd  Browns Bay Bowlers

We would like to especially thank the following fantastic organisations who generously provided goods and services:  

BallooNZ and The Beauty Clinic for the auction prizes

Mr Rental - Wairau Park for the speaker and mic

Withers & Co for the goody bags

For the great items that went into the goody bags:

General Mills – FibreOne

Sals Pizza

Cool Ridge

Loaf

SOS Hydration

Cadbury

Egmont Honey

Brothers Beer

And a big thank you to Smile Dealers who took photos of teams as keepsakes. 

Shine has partnered with Raizor, a New Zealand owned social enterprise offering Kiwis new ways to support charities. When you sign up with Raizor and choose Shine to support, you can select from special deals for movie tickets, insurance and more.  

You save money and you donate to help families get safe and stay safe. By purchasing items you would be anyway, you can choose to make a donation and receive a discount. Currently you can choose from Event Cinemas, Malcolm Flowers Insurance and Ray White Coming soon are deals with Meridan Energy, Sephora, SBS Bank and Once it. 

To find out more visit the Raizor website.

When my partner told me he wanted to kill me, I was absolutely terrified. I was so afraid that I grabbed my young son Leo*, threw a few things into a bag and went into hiding. When we got to where we were going, I found I hadn’t brought anything we needed. You can’t think straight when you’re that scared. 

For four years, I had lived my life walking on eggshells around my partner. Sometimes he’d be fine and other times abusive. But I never knew who I was going to wake up next to or who was going to come home from work. 

When the abuse became more violent, I reached out to Shine. They didn’t try to pressure me, but gave me practical advice for keeping me and my son safe. It meant the world being able to call and talk to someone who wouldn’t judge me.

Shine put me in touch with a family court lawyer who helped me get a Protection Order. When my partner breached it and was arrested, Police referred me to Shine to undertake specialised safety programmes for both me and Leo. 

My son was young and didn’t understand what was going on. He was really upset all the time, but the KIDshine advocate who worked with him was very patient and kind. She helped him to understand the effects of the violence, that it wasn’t his or my fault.  Now Leo is doing so well.

The Adult Safety Programme was an eye-opener for me. I recognised patterns I’d carried from an abusive childhood. It gave me time to reflect and realise there were many things I hadn’t thought of as abuse, but were actual abuse. It helped me to learn about the true nature of domestic violence and how to deal with its effects, especially when it comes to parenting my son.

For me, Shine felt like a wraparound service. They helped me, they helped my son, and they referred us to people who could help us further. 

Now I’ve got my own place, I feel in control of my life. Even my workmates have noticed a difference in me. I feel safer and calmer, and do more things for myself, like running.

Running is hugely important for my mental health. It’s really the only time I get to myself, me-time. It is such a good opportunity to clear my mind. If I have a bad day, I go for a run, process my bad day and afterwards I’m actually all right.

I’ve run in the Auckland Marathon in previous years, completing the half-marathon and the 11km. When I found out this year I could raise funds for Shine, I was in.

I always rave about how supportive Shine has been for me and Leo. It’s great to be able to pay it forward for others who are escaping abuse.

If you’re thinking of running, then do it! You have time to train.  And you have time to fundraise – every little bit helps. 

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If you would love to join Paula* and Team Shine by running or walking the ASB Auckland Marathon there's still time, find out more information here or email Carol Herbert or call Carol on 021 192 3548. 

*Names changed and representative image used to protect identities.

Shine has partnered with Zoomy – New Zealand’s largest owned and operated rideshare company – for its new Charity Drive initiative. 

Zoomy Charity Drive works by allowing riders to round up each ride to the nearest dollar, automatically donating the difference to your charity of choice. 

Zoomy is in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Shine's DVFREE policy advisor and senior trainer Holly Carrington has been a long time customer. 

"Zoomy is fabulous. I use it all the time in Auckland and Wellington. In the city centres they seem to be just as available as Uber, they also are usually cheaper and pay their drivers more. So all good!" 

Zoomy Charity Drive is available on the Zoomy app. To enable the feature, hit ‘donate’ from the Zoomy app and select Shine as your charity of choice from the three charities. 

After that, every time you ride with Zoomy, your fare will be rounded to the nearest dollar and your round up donation will go directly to Shine.

For more information on Zoomy's Charity Drive and to download the Zoomy app: visit Zoomy

An MYOB survey of small & medium sized businesses found nearly half hadn't implemented any domestic violence leave policies despite the law change almost five months ago.  "It would be our hope that this becomes the norm for businesses to have policies," Shine DVFREE and Policy Adviser Holly Carrington told TVNZ's 1 NEWS.

View story and full interview on 1NEWS

Two cases of violence against women made headlines within the first week of August, both involving intimate partner violence. The first involved the conviction of a man for stabbing his former partner. The second involved a man stalking and harassing a woman over a six-month period. Shine GM Jane Drumm was asked to comment on both stories.

**Trigger warning: describes violent attack and details**

Harrowing Auckland stabbing case provides insight into 'endemic' domestic violence,  Stuff, August 2019

Police lose file after Auckland woman complains of stalker's 'terrifying' home invasion,  Stuff, August 2019

The Trusts West Auckland is the first hospitality organisation and the eighth organisation in New Zealand to be awarded the DVFREE Tick. 

The Trusts CEO Simon Wickham says the organisation employs more than 320 staff throughout its retail and hospitality network, with many expressing support for the initiative.

He says store and venue managers have completed training to ensure they know how to assist any staff members or colleagues experiencing domestic violence. Frontline team members will also receive training to raise awareness of what support is available. 

“The formalisation of policies around domestic violence has sent a clear message to our staff that we are putting the infrastructure and training in place to ensure they are protected and supported within the workplace.

“Our trained first responders will listen to our staff members safety concerns, work with them to create their own personal safety plans, assist with access to helplines and services and support them during their working hours,” says Mr Wickham. 

“While we are known for our financial contributions to organisations in the community - including those who support people impacted by domestic violence, we also want our staff to know that if they are impacted by domestic violence in any way we will be there for them,” he adds.

For information or inquiries on the DVFREE Tick go to dvfree.org.nz

Fujiko Kato knew her workmates would be keen to get involved in the Shine Bowlathon because it’s for a good cause. Fuji, as she is known to everyone, is the Service & Evaluation Manager at PSN and recruited members of her work team and their partners to join her bowling team. 

“It’s a great way to encourage team cohesion at work. We’re really busy over this period, but for us as a work team, we like to get together as often as we can. As well as supporting Shine, it’s a nice excuse for a night out to socialise with work colleagues and their families,” says Fuji.

With a Masters in Public Policy focusing on gender issues and the way we perceive women and people in poverty, Fuji wants to see more education on domestic violence.

“I know Shine primarily helps people affected by domestic violence which is important work. Personally, I would also like more people taking up the specialist training Shine provides for organisations and professionals. With greater reach, Shine can help ultimately to reduce family violence in New Zealand.”

The name Split Personalities was chosen, says Fuji, because everyone on the team is quite different. Split is a bowling term for when you have only the pins on both edges left standing after a turn.

“We like to bowl socially but not competitively. Though one of our team members is quite good.”

Split Personalities might be the team to beat. To even up the odds, Fuji has a tip for new bowlers:

“Look at the lines on the lane in front of you, not down the end at the pins. The lines align with the pins so aim along the line you need.”

Join the Shine Bowlathon with your own team and see if Fuji’s advice holds true. Remember there are other trophies to get, such as Top Fundraiser, Best Costume, Worst Bowler! 

Sign up at www.2shine.org.nz/tenpin 

Radio New Zealand's The Panel with Wallace Chapman discussed the shocking number of arrests being made as a result of the new family violence laws. Shine's General Manager Jane Drumm says not only does New Zealand have a high rate of family violence but that it's also extreme violence being perpetrated.

You can listen to the full interview here on Radio New Zealand.