Oke Charity

Oke Charity Oke Charity grows mighty kids by building outdoor classrooms
in local schools.

The primary question we always ask at OKE, is how will what we do make a difference to the children in five years time as well as helping the kids today? There are a vast number of amazing charities implementing wonderful initiatives to resolve issues today, but will they still be running those initiatives in five years time? The projects we look to implement are long term self sustainable project

s which once implemented will not only give the kids today the pride of implementing said projects but will also serve to help kids years down the track and avoid the tribulations faced today by many young kiwis.

🌱 Meet Oke's Mini CEO 🌱Ten years ago today, Oke held its first official working bee at Papatoetoe East School.One of the...
10/06/2026

🌱 Meet Oke's Mini CEO 🌱

Ten years ago today, Oke held its first official working bee at Papatoetoe East School.
One of the youngest volunteers on site was a 13-month-old boy armed with a toy wheelbarrow, a plastic spade and absolutely no idea what was going on.

That little boy was Taylor.

Fast forward ten years and Taylor is now 11 years old, in his final year at Papatoetoe East School, and proudly holds the title of Oke's Mini CEO. More importantly, he's still using the very same outdoor classroom that volunteers helped create back in June 2016.

At Oke we often talk about impact, legacy and long-term change. But sometimes impact looks a lot simpler than that.

Sometimes it looks like watching a toddler grow into a young man while continuing to benefit from something his community built when he was barely old enough to walk.

Today, the original garden has grown into a thriving outdoor classroom complete with additional gardens, beehives, chickens and The Garden Shed. Thousands of tamariki have used the space over the last decade, but there's something pretty special about seeing our Mini CEO's story woven through the entire journey.

Today Oke celebrates ten years since that first working bee.

Taylor has grown up.
The garden has grown up.
And Oke has grown up too.
That's what ten years of impact looks like. 💚🌱

13/05/2026

Another Oke working bee done and dusted. What starts as an empty patch of grass becomes an outdoor classroom that kids will use for years. Not just for gardening either. These spaces become places for learning, wellbeing, connection and the kids who don’t always fit inside four walls.

What people don’t always see is the mahi behind the scenes. The working bee is one day but the project management, funding applications, planning, supplier coordination, stress and logistics goes on for months.

Oke runs lean as possible and these projects absolutely do not pay for themselves. So if you back what we do and want to help us support more schools across Aotearoa, please donate to Oke ❤️

Link in bio.

We're at St Joseph's Catholic School Onehunga today, helping to get their awesome outdoor classroom to get back up and r...
29/04/2026

We're at St Joseph's Catholic School Onehunga today, helping to get their awesome outdoor classroom to get back up and running! Huge thanks to Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board for funding and to the amazing volunteers from Oyster Property Group for their mahi; 🌱💚

Imagine if Spider-Man existed… but no one ever told you how Peter Parker got bitten. He’d still have amazing adventures,...
20/04/2026

Imagine if Spider-Man existed… but no one ever told you how Peter Parker got bitten. He’d still have amazing adventures, but understanding how it all started is kind of the whole point.

That’s pretty much how the Oke story has been told for the last ten years. You’ve seen what we do. Outdoor classrooms. Community builds. Tens of thousands of tamariki impacted. It looks like it was always meant to happen.

But it wasn’t. What makes this story different is there was never any intention to create Oke.

No strategy. No grand plan. Just an annual fundraiser, the Head2Head Walk and a moment where something didn’t make sense, so something was done about it.

Oke wasn’t planned. It was a response.

From that, a charity grew. And then there’s the name… do you know what “Oke” means?

We’ve finally shared the full origin story and you can read it here 👇
https://oke.org.nz/the-oke-origin-story/

Two years ago, Michelle, one of our awesome Oke Chief Go Getters, organised an Oke Working Bee at Onehunga Primary to bu...
01/04/2026

Two years ago, Michelle, one of our awesome Oke Chief Go Getters, organised an Oke Working Bee at Onehunga Primary to build their outdoor classroom. We had an awesome bunch of kids on the day, who helped shape the space.

Yesterday, Michelle went back and checked out what the next generation of Onehunga Primary kids have been up to. They were harvesting yellow watermelons grown from seeds they had saved themselves. For many, it was their first time ever trying one and they were so excited.

There's really no better way to demonstrate what these spaces mean to kids and the schools we work with. A lot of time, energy and funding goes into bringing an Oke classroom to life but those smiles are worth it 🌱💛

Well done Onehunga Primary, you should be very proud of your latest harvest 🍉

Most Kiwis don’t realise this👇You can claim 33.33% back on donations to charities.Yep. From IRD.So…Give $100 → get $33 b...
30/03/2026

Most Kiwis don’t realise this👇

You can claim 33.33% back on donations to charities.

Yep. From IRD.

So…

Give $100 → get $33 back
Give $300 → get $100 back

And the financial year ends tomorrow ⏳

We know things are tight right now, so no pressure. But if you are in a position to give, this is one of the smartest times to do it.

At Oke, your support helps us build outdoor classrooms and back schools so more kids can learn, grow, and just be kids outside 🌱

👉 Donate before midnight
👉 Claim your refund
👉 (And if you’re feeling generous… pass it on and double the impact)

Simple as that.

Quick heads up before the financial year wraps up tomorrow.Most people don’t realise this, but in New Zealand if you don...
30/03/2026

Quick heads up before the financial year wraps up tomorrow.

Most people don’t realise this, but in New Zealand if you donate to a charity, you can claim 33.33% back from IRD.

Yep, seriously.

So if you gave $100, you can get $33.33 back.
(And a lot of people just don’t claim it 🤯)

We also know things are tight right now. For a lot of families, there’s not much wiggle room, so this isn’t about pressure.

But if you are in a position to give, this is one of the smartest times to do it.

At Oke, your support goes straight into building outdoor classrooms, backing schools, and creating spaces where kids can learn, grow, and just be kids outside.

So here’s the simple play before midnight tomorrow:

👉 Make a donation
👉 Claim your tax refund
👉 And if you’re feeling generous, you can always pass that refund on and double the impact

No big pitch. Just a practical way to do some good.

If you want to support Oke, now’s the time 💚

https://oke.org.nz/donate/

School leaders taking the lead in their outdoor classroom at Otahuhu Intermediate School . 🌱Awesome to see the garden gr...
04/03/2026

School leaders taking the lead in their outdoor classroom at Otahuhu Intermediate School . 🌱

Awesome to see the garden group at Otahuhu Intermediate getting stuck in — watering, planting, composting and looking after their space.

This is what outdoor classrooms are all about. Giving students the chance to learn real skills, work together, and take ownership of something that grows over time.

Love seeing these young leaders stepping up and showing the way. 👏

🚨 LAST CALL, Good Eggs! 🚨You’ve got until March 7th to register and fundraise for Oke in Auckland Round the Bays 2026 🏃‍...
04/03/2026

🚨 LAST CALL, Good Eggs! 🚨
You’ve got until March 7th to register and fundraise for Oke in Auckland Round the Bays 2026 🏃‍♀️🌱

👉 Register here https://rtbauckland26.grassrootz.com/oke

Don’t miss out — we'd love to see you there.

Address

PO Box 76236, Manukau
Auckland
2241

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 3pm
Tuesday 9am - 3pm
Wednesday 9am - 3pm
Thursday 9am - 3pm
Friday 9am - 3pm

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