Adventures doing a POWA of good Nothing will stand in Kate Parr’s way when it comes to empowering women and girls of all backgrounds and abilities to push their boundaries in her adventure courses
At the heart of everything Kate Parr does is a deep commitment to inclusion, something she has a knack for explaining.
“I’m the kind of person who gives a shit. Those are the words I use: ‘Do you give a shit? I give a shit’,” she says.
“My staff and I care if someone is not participating because of a barrier. And we fix that barrier.”
Whether it’s the disabled or Muslim communities, or women who simply can’t afford to be involved in sport, Parr cares a lot. Her goal is to get more females being active, building their confidence and resilience, and engaging with the outdoors.
So far, 355 women and girls have undertaken her outdoor adventure days in the Waikato, which have just won a national sports award.
Over the past two years, Parr’s Pirongia-based business, First Step Outdoors, has run 14 adventure days through the POWA and GIRL POWA programmes. Their participants use words like: “Life-changing … priceless … extremely valuable”.
