Seeds

Sister Mary was born in 1929 and knew she wanted to be a nurse early in her life. In January 1949 she joined Little Company of Mary which is coming up to 70 years of service. In this interview we talk about her early life and memories of the first radio her family purchased, the Great Depression, the start of World War II and at age 16 her first experience of being with someone who died while she was working as a nurse caring for them. We then talk about what she has learned through a life of service and in particular about light and love. This is a most unusual interview and one I think is particularly powerful so I hope you enjoy it.

Little Company of Mary Christchurch site: https://lcmchristchurch.org.nz/

Little Company of Mary Australasia site: http://www.lcm.org.au

A reflection by Sister Mary: http://www.lcm.org.au/living-the-lcm-spirit/fx-stories.cfm?loadref=19&id=35

I wrote this poem for Mary based on our conversation. For more visit www.theseeds.nz

A Life of Service You describe being 16 and holding the hand of an old man breathing his last. Your memory of that moment still, crystal clear though long in the past. Inexorably drawn to this life, of service – for deep calls to deep. Your name an echo of others – one enough Examples of the promises you keep. Memories created over these years helping many move past fear of death into light Love at all times, the cascading call, may we never let that slip from our sight.

Julie co-founded charity KidsCan 13 years ago and is the CEO now. In this interview we talk about her childhood, her first jobs, the influence of her parents on her life and what led her to start KidsCan. We also talk about child poverty in New Zealand and what they are seeing on the front line among the almost 800 schools that they are in and how they are supporting children in need. We then discuss Te Ao Māori and its growing influence on what they are doing at KidsCan. This is one of those heartbreaking, challenging, encouraging and uplifting interviews as we dive deeper with Julie to really understand what motivates her and what they are doing through KidsCan.

To find out more visit:

https://www.kidscan.org.nz

https://www.facebook.com/KidsCanNZ

@KidsCanNZ

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kidscan-charitable-trust/

https://www.youtube.com/user/KidsCanNZ

"Julie is the CEO and Co-founder of KidsCan with over ten years experience in not-for-profit management. She is responsible for providing leadership, direction and the coordination of all activities of the Trust in accordance with the goals and objectives of the organisation. Julie's role is to direct strategy and create sustainability in order to grow the activities of the Trust to meet its charitable objectives. Julie is also responsible for programme development, key partnerships, Government relationships, public relations and the overall day-to-day management of the Trust.

In 2008 Julie was recognised as a Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader and in 2015 was named as a finalist for Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year – the second time her contribution has been recognised by the national award."

Thanks everyone for helping reach this significant milestone! The 75th episode was just released and with that we passed 20,000 total listens across all the interviews. Thanks to all who are out there listening to one, or many, of the episodes of the show and telling others about it - this milestone would not have been possible without you!

In honour of reaching this have edited the seminar last week that was given in Auckland called "Social Enterprise in Aotearoa: Where to?". This was held on 4 December 2018 at RSM and there were more than 50 who came along to hear the talk and some really good discussions and engagement around the issues.

www.theseeds.nz

https://www.facebook.com/SeedsPodcast/

Earlier this week (actually, last night!) I presented to around 50 people on Social Enterprise in Auckland and this is just a few short minutes extract of that more than hour long session. I was reflecting on what we are actually talking about when we think about social enterprise and the paradigm shift that is occurring as we move away from the binary conception of charity on the one side (mainly acting from heart) and business on the other (mainly acting from mind) and how the term social enterprise helps us as an intermediate stepping stone between the two, for now. Thanks to RSM and Craig Fisher for the wonderful arrangements, venue and organising the event.

I may post the full session at some point in coming weeks as well.

Mike was appointed earlier this year to be 'Wikipedian at Large' and has been travelling the country in that role. In this interview we talk about his childhood, his PHD in giant flightless birds and their egg sizes, his work in museums over the years and his role now promoting Wikipedia and running seminars across the country on that.

http://www.giantflightlessbirds.com/about/

@adzebill

"New Zealand Wikipedian-at-Large Dr Mike Dickison did his PhD research at Duke University on the evolution of body size in giant flightless birds. He was Curator of Natural History at Whanganui Regional Museum, and taught graphic design and typography at Whitireia Polytechnic. As editor Giantflightlessbirds he coordinates the Wikipedia support for the Critter of the Week project with DOC and Radio NZ. He also wrote and illustrated a book on how to play the ukulele."

Rowan is a lecturer in the History Department at Canterbury University who has done years of research into ANZAC history. In this interview (released in the month that is the centenary of World War I ending) we talk about his early childhood in Auckland, what led him to study history, and why it is that we celebrate a defeat in WW1 rather than the end of the war or a victory. This is one of those wide ranging interviews that touches on many areas so I am sure you will enjoy it. Rowan's book on the topic of the ANZAC history will be published in 2019.

http://canterbury-nz.academia.edu/RowanLight

Louise Aitken is the CEO of Ākina Foundation which is growing social enterprise in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this interview (the longest so far!) we talk about her childhood, what it was like growing up with her twin sister Natalie, moving to Brazil age 17 and how that shaped her identity, taking care of her father who passed away from cancer in her 20s, her career working in London, how she made the decision to return to New Zealand and her work in CSR and other areas since returning. We then go into lots of detail about social enterprise in New Zealand - both its history here, what the shape of it may be and what the future could hold.

For more on Ākina Foundation check out here:

http://akina.org.nz

https://www.facebook.com/akinafoundation/

On this episode we discuss dyslexia as a form of Superpower. Why might that be? After our full interview Geoff Bone contacted me to say he wanted to talk about Dyslexia. While it is hinted at in the full interview he asked if he could come back and share more about his experience. We thought it would be a 2 minute insert into the interview but then it became more - this episode. I readily agreed to chat because I think everyone knows someone who has been affected by Dyslexia so here is a short episode where we discuss his experience, what it has meant for his son who is on that journey and the value it has played in his adult life (developing grit and determination).

For the full interview with Geoff on his life, click here: http://seeds.libsyn.com/geoff-bone-on-the-new-zealand-agricultural-show-and-how-to-create-meaningful-events

We talk about this podcast episode during our chat: Cliff Weitzman shares his ongoing journey creating the text to speech app Speechify and explains the role his dyslexia plays. from Dyslexia Is Our Superpower Podcast in Podcasts. https://itunes.apple.com/nz/podcast/episode-38-cliff-weitzman-shares-his-ongoing-journey/id1273576736?i=1000412091579&mt=2

Geoff is the event director for the New Zealand Agricultural Show (formerly the Canterbury A&P Show). In this interview we talk about Geoff's childhood and years overseas in Australia and London, what it is that makes a great event, cultural differences between New Zealand and overseas, how to succeed while dealing with rejection, the history and what goes on at the New Zealand Agricultural Show which gets 100,000 visitors over a few days in November as well as the nature of it and being a social enterprise.

New Zealand Agricultural Show: https://www.theshow.co.nz

Beck & Caul: https://www.beckandcaul.co.nz

From the New Zealand Agricultural Show website:

"Welcoming over 100,000 visitors through the gates, the New Zealand Agricultural Show brings a touch of tradition to the city and celebrates all that is great about rural life. With a packed schedule of top livestock and equestrian events, live music, Endurocross, fun-filled family entertainment, an indulgent Food & Wine Village and so much more, you really will be spoilt for choice at this spectacular Show.

The Show is hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, a charity whose aim is to promote the importance of farming, produce and innovation to New Zealand as a whole. The Association's annual event is one of New Zealand's oldest A&P Shows and remains a traditional agricultural Show at heart. The decision was taken by the Association in 2017 to rebrand the Show, to ensure its longevity and continued support to the communities at its core for many more years to come. You can read more about this journey here.

The New Zealand Agricultural Show offers a memorable mix of competition, culture and entertainment – a celebration of everything great in New Zealand and one not to be missed!"

Holly is one of the four co-founders of Collaborate which connects people with volunteering opportunities. In this interview we discuss her early childhood in the UK, the implications of moving to New Zealand at a young age, her interest and love of theatre and what that has meant for other initiatives, how she started on the journey of co-founding Collaborate, how it works, the ups and downs of being a social enterprise and what the future holds.

To access more and download the app visit https://www.letscollaborate.co.nz

"Collaborate is a web app that connects people to volunteer opportunities that match their skills and interests. Collaborate makes volunteering fast, fun and addictive."