Jack Prince – A Good Deed

Jack joined Capital Training at the end of Year 12. He had decided to leave his high school as he was not enjoying the environment and did not feel that he was getting the most out of his time there. Jack believes that he was struggling a little with his work (mathematics in particular) and was beginning to get into a bit of trouble at school. Jack and his family started looking for alternative education options in the Wellington region and Jack’s grandad found Capital Training online.

As Jack was talking to me about how he had started on our Intensive Literacy and Numeracy programme and had worked his way up to completing two Level 2 New Zealand Certificates at Capital Training (one in computing and one in hospitality), one of his tutors, Mandy walked past and said that the coffees that he brewed as part of the hospitality certificate were fantastic. I must admit that I was (and still am) gutted that I did not get to try one for myself.

At the time that I am writing this story, Jack is in his class, at one of our campuses, working on his Level 3 Certificate in Business Administration. As part of the qualification, each learner must organise and complete a project in the community to help fundraise for a local organisation or charity. Jack has excelled in this project and has done something truly amazing.

For his Level 3 project, Jack decided to raise money for an organisation that has been instrumental in helping him develop into the person that he is today - Conductive Education. Conductive Education is an organisation that offers support groups, classes, holiday programmes and individual sessions for young people in our community, who need it the most.

When Jack was three years old, the only way he could move around was with a walking frame. His Cerebral Palsy had led to him having significant difficulties with walking. Jack’s parents took him to Conductive Education and Jack believes that it is only due to the hard work and support of those that work there, that he can walk today. Conductive Education has supported Jack throughout his life and now he has decided to give back and do something good for them.

Jack has set up an online fundraising page in order to raise money for Conductive Education. Jack’s goal was to raise $250.00 over the span of a month.

After only a few days of fundraising, Jack had already surpassed his Level 3 fundraising project goal. The level of success that he has achieved is phenomenal and has made everyone at Capital Training immensely proud. I asked Jack what he thought about the whole thing and Jack replied that he is absolutely thrilled. Jack was not expecting the fundraiser to be this successful and is beyond grateful to everyone who has contributed so far.

I asked Jack what he plans to do once he completes his Level 3 qualification at Capital Training. Jack said that he plans to have a bit of a holiday (he really does deserve it after all of the hard work that he has put in) and then he is going to try to get a job in retail. Getting a job has always been the goal for Jack, but he says that he needs to get as many qualifications as he can first.

Due to Jack’s Cerebral Palsy, he has found it difficult in the past to find any kind of work. He has experienced a bias against him and believes that having as many qualifications as he can, will counter that in his search for employment. When Jack told me this, I was stunned. I was stunned because Jack is an incredibly driven, capable and friendly person and I couldn’t believe that any business would turn him down for a job because he has Cerebral Palsy. In the face of this bias however, Jack has worked hard and developed a large range of skills. I sincerely believe that with the success of his fundraising project, Jack will open a lot of doors in his future and that there will be a lot of opportunities for him moving forward.

We are immensely proud of Jack, for all that he has accomplished and wish him all the best for the future. At the conclusion of the fundraiser, Jack was able to raise over $1000, which will go towards Conductive Education renovating their wheelchair access ramp.

Nice work Jack!!!