WanderSearch Canterbury
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A care worker walking beside an older woman with a walking frame along a garden path at a rest home

Our Partners and Funders

Stronger together

We work alongside emergency services, health and disability organisations, and funders who share our goal: keeping people at risk of going missing safe.

Support our work

NZ Police & Land Search and Rescue

A Land Search and Rescue volunteer holding a directional receiver beside a police officer and an older man on a bench

Land Search & Rescue and NZ Police with the radio-frequency locating gear.

A WanderSearch device is only useful because trained responders know how to locate it. NZ Police and Land Search & Rescue carry the locating equipment tuned to each device’s frequency.

When a carer calls 111, Police Communications passes the details to the Land Search & Rescue team, who use the signal to help narrow the search area. It’s a partnership that has been central to WanderSearch from the start.

NZ Police
Land Search and Rescue

WanderSearch Canterbury Safe Communities Programme

We invite Canterbury Rest Home Providers to become a WanderSearch Canterbury ‘Safe Communities Partner’, helping ensure this vital service remains available to Canterbury families while demonstrating your commitment to resident safety.

Why Partner with WanderSearch?

A Partnership with WanderSearch Canterbury demonstrates your commitment to:

Delivering education and awareness across the aged care sector
Supporting Canterbury Families
Protecting people living with dementia and other conditions
Supporting carers in the aged care sector
Resident Safety
Maintaining independence and empowering vulnerable individuals to safely participate in the community
Welcome, Rosebank Lifecare: WanderSearch Canterbury Safe Communities Partner. Working together to keep residents safe and support safer communities. The Rosebank Villas sign with the WanderSearch and Rosebank logos.

Rosebank Lifecare

Bronze Supporter

A huge thank you to Rosebank Lifecare in Ashburton for becoming a WanderSearch Canterbury Safe Communities Partner.

We’re delighted to be working alongside a Rest Home that places such importance on the safety, wellbeing, dignity and independence of its residents.

Together, we can help provide greater reassurance for residents, whānau and caregivers, while supporting residents to maintain independence and safely participate in their communities.

Thank you, Rosebank Lifecare, for supporting our work and helping us build safe, supportive communities for vulnerable Cantabrians

Talk to us about joining today!

Contact us

Fuelling Community Safety

When a vulnerable individual goes missing every passing minute increases the risk of injury and in some cases death.

Our volunteers are the heart of this service. They freely give their time, skills, compassion, and use their own vehicles to ensure these individuals are protected. We are seeking local businesses to partner with us to help cover these essential mileage costs. Together, we can reach those who need us most.

We are incredibly grateful to RD Petroleum for their generous sponsorship towards the mileage costs of our WanderSearch Canterbury volunteers. Fuel and travel costs can be a significant expense for a small charity, so support from local businesses like RD Petroleum makes a genuine difference.

WanderSearch Canterbury extends their sincere thanks to The Ideal Foundation for their generous donation towards our volunteer mileage costs. Your support helps keep our volunteers on the road, enabling them to carry out client visits, deliver and collect devices, provide support to families, and connect with communities across the region.

‘Every partnership strengthens the safety net protecting vulnerable Cantabrians.’

Every contribution makes a difference and helps us continue providing our safety devices to those who need them.

If your business would like to Support WanderSearch Canterbury please contact us to discuss.

Contact us

Who we work with

Health, disability, aged-care and education organisations who refer clients and help us reach the people who need us.

In their words

Feedback from the health, disability, aged-care and education partners we work alongside.

I work for Explore as a Behaviour Specialist. Our core role is behaviour support, and we work alongside individuals and their whānau to understand their unique needs and strengths. For families connected with WanderSearch, I've found the team to be responsive in issuing the WanderTrak devices. The variety on offer (pendant, clip on, wrist band) helps cater to individual sensory preferences. WanderSearch allows families to switch devices if the original choice isn't comfortable (for example, moving from a pendant to a clip-on), and this flexibility makes a real difference for comfort and ongoing use.

Demi Geldenhuis Behaviour Specialist Explore

We have been using WanderSearch devices for some of our residents. It is simple, easy to access and inexpensive. With the help of the Police Authority, It gives us peace of mind if something happens.

Maricar Calzada Clinical Manager Radius Millstream, Ashburton

As an organisation supporting people living with dementia in the community, we work closely with the WanderSearch Canterbury team and their local representatives in our community. WanderSearch is a vital support for a person who walks with purpose (previously known as wandering) to maintain their safety and independence in the community, particularly if their ability to orientate themselves changes which often does as dementia advances. The devices provide significant peace of mind for family/whānau who are supporting a person they love with dementia, knowing that they have a little safety net around their person, should they ever need it. For us as an organisation, these devices are a vital tool for support, and something we refer our clients into should they need this — the feedback we hear from our clients after their interactions with the WanderSearch team are always positive in nature.

Alzheimers South Canterbury
Read all testimonials

Celebrating the organisations we work with

  • WanderSearch is a great option to consider for many people Dementia.

    Darral CampbellCEODementia Canterbury

  • Whānau can have peace of mind, knowing that they will be able to find their children quickly...

    Victoria Tui’iSenior Occupational TherapistAllenvale School

  • We've found the WanderSearch system to be an invaluable safeguard. It's comfortable, discreet and helps them feel safe and supported in the community.

    Mike McDanielDirector of NursingPūkeko Blue Ltd

  • Wandersearch has given us tremendous peace of mind in caring for our residents.

    Gene RuizClinical ManagerWindsor Care

Dementia Canterbury

WanderSearch is a great option to consider for many people living with dementia. As wayfinding can become difficult for some, a pendant or watch can be a great option to consider, maintaining independence for the person, and peace of mind for whanau, and ensuring a highly responsive service should the person wander, and or become disorientated. Talking with the staff at WanderSearch about options is highly recommended.

Darral CampbellCEO

Allenvale School

I have worked with the team at Wandersearch Canterbury alongside many of the whanau at our school for years. The team are always so helpful and professional. Having access to these tracking devices for our akonga has meant that their whanau can have peace of mind, knowing that they will be able to find their children quickly if they ever were to take off on their own. Additionally, being able to access a service like this without funding being a barrier is wonderful. Thanks team!

Victoria Tui’iSenior Occupational Therapist

Pūkeko Blue Ltd

As a disability service supporting people who are sometimes at risk of going missing, we've found the WanderSearch NZ system to be an invaluable safeguard. Police have been able to locate our residents with a simple request of the WanderSearch number associated with their pendant, often within a very short timeframe. Many of our residents enjoy wearing the necklace pendant, it's comfortable, discreet, and helps them feel safe and supported in the community. The collaboration between WanderSearch and the Police gives real peace of mind to families, staff, and everyone involved in their care. We're very grateful for this reliable and effective service.

Mike McDanielDirector of Nursing

Windsor Care

WanderSearch has given us tremendous peace of mind in caring for our residents with memory challenges. It allows them to maintain their independence and continue enjoying their walks and outings safely, while giving our team confidence that help will be on the way whenever needed. We had an occasion where one of our Wander Tracker users did not return after his afternoon walk. Thanks to the tracker's radio frequency, the police were able to locate him promptly. He had experienced a fall near the riverbank, and with dusk approaching and rain on the way, the outcome could have been very different without the device. We are deeply grateful for this technology: it has truly enhanced both resident safety and our sense of assurance as caregivers.

Gene RuizClinical Manager

Our funders

Our work is made possible by the generosity of these grant-makers, trusts and foundations.

ANZ Staff Foundation ANZ Staff Foundation
Aoraki Foundation Aoraki Foundation
Aotearoa Gaming Trust Aotearoa Gaming Trust
Blogg Charitable Trust Blogg Charitable Trust
Canterbury Masonic Charitable Trust Canterbury Masonic Charitable Trust
Christchurch Casino Charitable Trust Christchurch Casino Charitable Trust
Community Organisation Grants Scheme COGS
Community Trust Mid & South Canterbury Community Trust Mid & South Canterbury
Ideal Foundation Ideal Foundation through Ideal Electrical Suppliers
Lottery Grants Board Lottery Grants Board
Mainland Foundation Mainland Foundation
Lions Club of Methven Methven Lions
NZCT NZCT
Pub Charity Pub Charity
Rata Foundation Rata Foundation
RD Petroleum RDP Petroleum
The Lion Foundation The Lion Foundation
Support our work

Every device we issue is free. Your donation keeps it that way.

A Gift today protects a vulnerable Cantabrian.

Donate now Leave a gift in your will
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