Who is ZEAL?
In 1995 the now CEO of Zeal, Anthony Walton, launched a new youth venue in central Wellington New Zealand called ‘Global Tribe’. The venue was initially a huge success and saw over 100,000 young people come through. Unfortunately the hype only lasted six months until the reality set in that All-ages are nearly impossible to run at a profit. Global Tribe closed down leaving the young people of Wellington without a cultural and social home or hub.
Realising the tragedy of the closure, the then Mayor Mark Blumsky approached Anthony with the prospect of offering financial support from the Wellington City Council to relaunch the brand. The new organisation, ‘Zeal’, became a charitable trust in February 1998. 18 months later, in October 1999, Zeal held it´s first event at their brand new premises on Victoria St (just opposite the Wellington Central Police Station).
Now almost ten years on, Zeal has cemented itself as a key voice and venue in Wellington. It has since moved premises again to it´s current place overlooking Glover Park in Wellington, and sees over 200 young people every week through it´s various programmes and events.
In September 2006, Zeal was approached by the Waitakere City Council to apply for the position of provider for their new youth facility. After successfully winning the contract, Zeal was welcomed into Waitakere City in July. A team of nine from Wellington, New Plymouth and Auckland assembled to accept Mayor Harvey´s invitation. It has been an incredible journey to watch this organisation grow and expand to accomodate the needs of young people in New Zealand.
So in answer to the question, ‘Who is Zeal?’. Zeal is the young person. Zeal is every young person who calls it home. Zeal is setup, not only to shape young people, but to be shaped. We come to serve, and to be utilised as a launch-pad for young people in the communities we work. Our programmes are both a reflection of our heart, and the heart of the young person.
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