The Society of Mary began the Logos Project in 1999. It is now an independent organisation governed by the Society of Mary Youth Ministry Trust.
The Society of Mary continues to support Logos financially.
Logos is a youth development agency that works with young people in the Auckland region, enabling them to positively impact their communities and wider society.
The youth work team runs various programmes designed to develop young people, helping ground them in their values and identity. In doing so, the Logos Project helps to make these young people more fully integrated members of our society.
Logos works out of a building on Ponsonby Road.
The Logos team consists of 4 full-time workers and 3 part-timers. There are about 20 volunteers available to help them with the work.
In December 2015, Jen Martinez became the leader of the Logos team.
School Retreats
Logos retreats give students an opportunity for faith formation and spiritual growth. They use practical, experiential, and reflective activities that focus on, and are relevant to, the participants.
Special Character
Special Character work regularly supports students’ personal development and encourages them to take part in their school and community activities.
Logos team members nurture relationships with students and witness their personal growth. Over time, their understanding of the students develops, enabling the team to better meet the participants’ needs.
At the beginning of each year, special Character leaders from schools across Auckland attend an overnight leadership retreat.
The retreat provides an opportunity for leaders to connect faith and life. It enables them to become active leaders in their respective schools and builds lasting relationships with students from other colleges.
The retreat also allows Connectors (volunteers) to bond and work together to support the retreat. It is a key moment to set the tone for the year and get everyone involved in a project together.
Pastoral Care
Jade Speaks Up is a teaching resource from Violence Free Waitakere which helps students create strategies to keep themselves safe, particularly about family violence.
The programme creates a safe space for students to explore topics that would otherwise remain unspoken, and that they have received positive feedback from students on how useful it was to learn practical ways to keep themselves safe.
Connectors Programme (Volunteers)
Each year a new cohort of volunteers joins existing Connectors to make a team of 20 plus young adults.
The year starts with a series of training and induction sessions before they began volunteering on retreats and programmes.
They also assisted with the planning of events. This provides an opportunity to develop skills in project planning and management, budgeting, leading youth work activities, promotion, and completing risk assessments and evaluations.
Working with other organisations
The Logos Project collaborates with and supports other organisations including the Auckland Society of St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies), the Marist Brothers and Caritas Aotearoa.
Society of Mary involvement
The New Zealand province’s provincial appoints the Society of Mary Youth Ministry Trust members.