November 19, 2020

Craig Nielsen

Brave, defined by Craig;

Get in there, get it done. Be aware, question, plan and be agile.

Alongside a team of passionate parents and supporters, Conductive Education’s Craig Nielsen has been the driving force behind a small community organisation that has achieved huge things in such a short time. But the journey has been far from easy for the Taranaki man, so what is it that gives Craig his own inspiration, drive, and motivation to continue the brave crusade? Hannah recently put some questions to him, to find out those very details.

If only it was as simple as “do the mahi, get the treats”.

The reality is, running a successful community organisation requires hard work, dedication, manpower, and a never-say-die attitude. Plus a whole lot more.

For the team at Conductive Education, their efforts are slowly starting to pay off. Being real, being visible, and being vulnerable enough to openly share their struggles and stories have been significant ingredients in the organisation’s recipe for success. When combined with the raw grit and determination that comes with a desperate need to do all you can for the benefit of a loved one, it’s not hard to imagine the lengths someone in Craig’s situation would go to. But imagining, and actually doing, are worlds apart. That feat, takes a special kind of brave.

Craig says having children changes your life, along with your perspective on life itself.

“With that in mind, throw a disability into the mix and things get somewhat more ‘dynamic’.”

When asked what the biggest and bravest challenge is that he has ever faced, Craig thinks back to a time when he ventured to America at 21 years old, with $1000 to his name. But that escapade full of fun and youthful exuberance is soon dismissed when a more recent situation is pulled from the memory bank.

“The bravest…sitting in Zak’s CE assessment in Hamilton when he was about one year old and realising how far behind his peers he was. Seeing a video of older CE kids was a reality check that disability was going to be a big part of our lives. I guess partly through denial and grieving for parental dreams of football, go-karting and regular life slipping away. That video was a window to the effort that was going to be required to help him prosper.”

Soon after that realisation, Craig gave up his career to support and work alongside Zak in his pre-school years in order to give him the best possible start in life, while also kicking off the CE journey for Taranaki kids alongside other passionate families.

Now joined by a raft of committed trustees, operations staff, additional supporters and families, Craig says the tight-knit community all work to the same philosophy. It’s one that adds to the positive foundation laid down by those people themselves.

“Conductive Education’s philosophy is to work from a place of opportunity. You may have struggles in front of you (we all do), so much like the work with our kids in-centre, our group is all about asking ourselves “how can we do this?”.

That philosophy is something Craig credits to his family life, along with belonging to a community that makes him feel proud, connected and empowered.

“My brothers and I are fortunate to have had a great example set by our parents that you get out what you put in. This is never more-so than with mahi in our community. Taranaki is magic. It’s small enough that you can spread your message, and large enough that you can create change and impact. I’m not sure if that’s partly due to our geographic location or other factors, but our region produces so many resilient and resourceful people. It is a great place to be.”

The aroha received from the community, particularly in recent times with the organisation receiving $130,000 in generous donations, is something that leaves Craig feeling incredibly humbled, appreciative and proud.

“It makes me feel so proud for our people, the kids and families especially, that we have provided a voice for a marginalised sector of our community. Let’s be honest, disability isn’t exactly glamorous. It can be demanding on time and finances, for what may appear like little return. The reality is, that investment is significant, and the positive impact for our families is huge.”

For a young organisation, Craig knows they have punched above their weight. He also knows that times may continue to get tougher for those needing community help, but takes pride in the fact that he and the team at CE will continue punching.

“To a certain degree, there is an element of satisfaction there in receiving that support. Satisfaction and validation that we are doing the right thing and giving people an opportunity that was not previously available in Taranaki.

“We simply have to keep going, to help empower our people and community to be the best they can be.”

We also felt Craig deserved some parting words without us meddling with his commentary. Here’s what he had to say (FYI, if we were meddling, we probably would have thrown a swear word in the first point).

Don’t park in disability parks without a pass!
A massive heartfelt thanks to everyone that has supported our group and families, to those who “get it” and can see that it could be themselves, or anyone they know, in our shoes. A sincere appreciation and admiration to our families putting in the graft daily to support their whanau the best they can. A HoooRah shout out to my family and friends for being both the voice of reason and prime motivators, and to our amazing crew of people that support and deliver our mahi every day!
A special mention to Zak. I had no idea what a motivating force a non-verbal kid with significant challenges could be. How you have positively impacted mine and many lives around you, thank you for helping to make our community a more empowering and empathetic place to be!

October 4, 2018

Favour the Brave announce charity partner

Over the past couple of months, we have been calling for non-profit organisations to apply for our Bravery Reward – an initiative that will see us offer our services to one organisation, free of charge, for a two-year period.

We received a huge number of applications from so many outstanding people and organisations, which hasn’t made this decision easy on us!

The lucky recipient is the New Plymouth Emergency Shelter Trust – an organisation who offer emergency accommodation to those who have nowhere else to go.

They are a very important organisation that have been around for many years, flying somewhat under the radar. Of all the applications we received, we felt our services could make the biggest difference for them in terms of what they require from a branding and identity perspective.

It also got us thinking about how we come home at the end of a day to a place of comfort and familiarity which allows us to regroup and get ready to face the next day. For people who don’t have that luxury or sense of security, it takes an awful lot of bravery to wake up and take on the day-to-day tasks that many of us do without a second thought.

Although the Emergency Shelter will be our main partner for the next two years, we certainly won’t be turning a blind eye to the other applications we received. We want to thank all the charities and organisations who applied for our Bravery Reward. It was truly unbelievable to receive so many applications from people doing amazing things in our community. We wish we could help them all, but for now, this is where we will start our mission.

How it all began…

Favour the Brave was created one night as we were discussing how much we’d enjoyed helping a friend set up their business.

As we were designing their brand and marketing strategy, we could just see their drive and excitement building. When you witness someone take on a challenge they’re passionate about, you can’t help but get excited for them. That vibe is infectious. And when you see them succeeding, well, that’s even better.

That was when we decided “favour the brave” best summed up our desire to help businesses and individuals step out of their comfort zone and try something different, whether that be starting a new venture, or looking at alternative marketing and PR opportunities to take their existing brand to the next level.

With more than 25 years experience between us, we both have specific skill sets we bring to the business. Jaron heads the design side, having worked on hundreds of local and national brands and campaigns with businesses he has owned and co-owned over the past two decades. As a former journalist and communications executive, I take care of the marketing, media and PR elements.

Between us, we offer specialist services in logo and brand development, document design, marketing and communications strategy and implementation, social media management and monitoring, crisis communications, and writing and proofreading.

As the bow and arrow in our logo suggests, our brand is based on being a support to those who are looking to aim for new targets.

We know a lot of people already have an idea about what they want to do, or where they want to go. It’s about taking the care, attention and precision to steer them in the right direction and use our skills to help them hit those targets.

And it’s not just business support we’re focused on.

We know there are so many people out there doing brave things every day, so we want to make sure we’re not only assisting those searching for business success, but those who are having to be courageous on a daily basis, whatever the reason.

We plan to do this the best way we know how, by offering our services free of charge to a non-profit organisation or charity for at least a two year period.

While our new venture is primarily focused on rewarding the bravery of others, the name brings with it a huge challenge for us as well.

Jaron and I are both fairly reserved, quietly creative people by nature. Since we’ve started Favour the Brave, there’s already been so many instances where we’ve had to step out of our own comfort zone to achieve something. When deciding the name, we knew it would also be a great way to keep us accountable and challenge our knowledge, creativity, courage and bravery on a daily basis.

We’re really looking forward to meeting and working with people who are passionate about what they’re involved in. If we can sense that in our clients, we will do absolutely everything we can to help empower them to go above and beyond what they thought was possible.