TKM Update - Here's what's been happening in October!
Hey team, its Chris here. We're moving to a monthly update so that the comms remain on target and we keep our promise of not spamming. I hope you enjoy - and if not, do email me with feedback at chris@tangokilomike.org
Introducing Ryan
We've welcomed Ryan Gilbert into the TKM family as Ambassador. Ryan is a superb fella, hailing from the South Island, and is the chair of the Mackenzie district RSA. Ex-infantry, and now running wellness retreats in Tekapo, we're proud as punch to have him standing with us. You can read more about Ryan here.
Get your merch!
We're pleased to announce that we now (finally) have an online shop where we're selling branded merch that can be used on and off the mats. We won't promise it'll make you any more legendary, but feedback so far suggests it will. You can find it here. If you're a retailer, artist or have things you think would make sense to be in our shop, please do reach out and let's talk! We do have some amazing tee's inbound from a superbly talented artist in Christchurch. We're hoping they'll arrive in time for Halloween!
Interviewing Elena Mountford
Elena Mountford is a metalsmith from the British army, and recently undertook a charitable fundraising endeavour for cancer treatment. What she did was arguably mad - running 10 marathons (thats 42km!) consecutively for 10 days, in army gear wearing a 10kg weighted vest. As you can probably imagine, it was an epic struggle of highs and lows, and we were lucky enough to have an hour with her to interview her. This is her story:
Getting our message out through roll-a-thons
At our very core, we're passionate about using exercise as a primary form of managing our stress in a healthy and productive way. In September we hosted our first 'roll-a-thon' (an event where people from any Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club can attend and practice their skills against new people in a safe and controlled manner). This event created two things - a tonne of awareness about our what we do, and even more jealousy of not hosting them elsewhere!
So with this, I'm pleased to announce that our next roll-a-thon will be held at Bush Jiu Jitsu, Whangarei on 26 Nov from noon. You're welcome to attend whether you're young or old, experienced or beginner, wearing angry pyjamas or wrestling spats. Bring your best self and let the good times roll!
If you're unable to make it, but wish to help through a donation, you can do so here. Alternatively, you can buy some merch. Or if you're a club owner and wish to host an event, reach out to us at info@tangokilomike.org
Starting strategic partnerships with Te Heke Mai, Amazon Web Services, and others
Recognising that changing careers, can be daunting, create a loss of identity, self-respect and other stressors, we're reaching out to world leading organisations who can help overcome these hurdles. We're pleased to announce partnerships with Te Heke Mai and with Amazon Web Services (AWS) who provide access to training, mentors and other forms of support to help you achieve the job you're capable of.
Te Heke Mai is a coaching programme that provides wrap around support to people who are looking for work, in training or starting new jobs. Through a handy app, friendly real-life coaches help the participants to set goals specific to their individual journey and support and coach them through their journey and towards achieving their goals.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—are using AWS to lower costs, become more agile, and innovate faster. AWS provides TKM members access to training at reduced or no cost. Qualifications are globally recognised.
If either programme is of interest, please do email info@tangokilomike.org in the first instance.
Making it to the finals of the 2022 HeadFit Awards
Our chair, Chris, has made it to the finals of this years' HeadFit awards, a nationally recognised achievement for furthering awareness and de-stimagtising mental wellness in the workplace. Being a finalist in the 'lived experience' category, Chris has been a strong advocate for TKM, getting people from uniformed services into jobs they deserve and smashing stigma's around hidden illnesses. You can read more about the awards and the different categories, here. Winners of each category will be announced at the end of November.
Congratulations Chris!