Community Mentor
Wendy was a Trustee on the Porirua City Community IT Educational Trust (e-Learning Porirua) for twenty years.
Her work on the Board of e-Learning Trust made a difference to families within the community of Porirua City.
The objectives of the Trust were to:
- Help parents and their children to gain, or improve, their skills in the use of a computer.
- Raise their skills in the use of computers so that they may be better able to get a job.
- Provide a computer in their homes with internet access and on-going support from mentors if needed.
Ten years after creating her training company, Wendy felt that the time had come to create a Lasting Impact and make her thoughts count throughout her local community of Porirua City in New Zealand.
She worked with a technology genius, Fraser Carson of Flightdec and his team to provide online hubs for communities and groups to facilitate better connectivity and the exchange of information, opinions and ideas.
This was ground-breaking technology, the very first such technology in the world, and the hope is that it will expand throughout New Zealand and the world. It's an opportunity to celebrate achievements and successes within the community and encourage innovation. They're making their thoughts count. It enabled e-Learning Porirua to increase its reach throughout the City.
The Chair of the Trust for much of those twenty years was Graham Kelly.
“I have known Wendy Betteridge as a person in our community who has made a positive and significant difference to those around her in business and community organisations, because she has that ‘x-factor' to inspire people to achieve.
“As the Founding Chairperson of a community IT Trust in Porirua City to place computers into homes and schools, I have been grateful that Wendy has played a significant role on our Trust Board. She has written manuals for tutors and worked with unemployed parents who are undertaking computer training so as to be able to get a job.
“I have watched her give hope and inspiration to families and children that it is possible to attain their goals, even when they seem out of reach.
“Wendy is a speaker who is able to command the attention of all groups in society. Her vision, sense of humour, intelligence and practical application is certainly hard to find in most communities.
“In my view, she is an outstanding motivational speaker, whom any organisation would find an asset to assist them in their undertaking.”
Graham Kelly - New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada, former Labour MP and Chair of the Porirua City Council IT Educational Trust