headlight

06/10/2025

5 WAYS TO WELLBEING WORKSHOP IN WĀNAKA 17th OCT 6-7:30PM AT WĀNAKA COMMUNITY HUB, 34 MCDOUGALL ST
We love us some alliteration, but headlight's 5 Ways to Wellbeing is more a festival of fun ☀️ than a workshop.

It delivers simple, positively practical ways to look after and boost your mental wellbeing. Guaranteed no jargon, complicated theories or meditation – just real, practical, joyful activities that you can fit into your everyday life.

Pay whatever you're comfortable with, light snacks included.

If this doesn't float your boat, Community Link Upper Clutha is collaborating with a heap of local groups and charities, to offer a bunch of (mainly free or koha) wellbeing events and programmes during Mental Health Awareness Month: reflection walks, mindful communication, speed friending, hand massage, yoga, working with bees . . . check out the full calendar here on the website www.communitylink.nz

https://events.humanitix.com/community-link-wanaka-5-ways-to-wellbeing

17/02/2025

Are you passionate about mental health, with leadership experience and a knack for organisation? We're on the lookout for a General Manager to join us, who will to help run daily operations and implement our new mental health literacy programs.

For more info, have a look at the full job post or contact us at info@headlight.org.nz.

We are seeking a General Manager to run daily operations and enable the implementation of new mental health literacy programmes. This is a 20 hour per week contractor role reporting to the Chair of Headlight Trust with much of the work able to be done from home. Duties include supporting the Board w

13/02/2025

A Farewell to Anna Dorsey

Headlight Trust Board is sad to announce that our founding Chief Executive Anna Dorsey, has stepped down from her role due to personal circumstances. We are full of admiration for the work that Anna has done in recent years to raise awareness around the need for building mental health literacy capability in the Queenstown Lakes community. Her energy and effort has then been behind numerous workshops and other events aimed at helping people strengthen their ability to support their own and others' mental health and wellbeing. In today's world these skills and knowledge are increasingly important as we all navigate uncertainty and rapidly changing times.

Anna's departure from Headlight took effect at the end of January and Headlight Board members are currently responding to day to day operational matters relating to the Trust. We are working at pace to recruit a new General Manager so that the range of programmes currently in development following input from various communities and organisations, can be offered.

We thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to continuing to work with you.

19/12/2024

Signing off the year with a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been part of the Headlight journey in 2024. 🙏 💗

This year has been a journey of new challenges and new opportunities for us, like so many, and having the support of our community, board, funders and stakeholders has meant we have been able to continue to make a difference in our work elevating mental health literacy and supporting mental wellbeing.

We look forward to next year and the chance to bring to life new projects and programmes to support our collective wellbeing.

In the meantime, our Christmas gift to you is our latest newsletter capturing the news and stories from our team from these past few months, including the findings of our migrant wellbeing workshops and news about the other new programmes we are creating for our communities.

So happy reading, meri kirihimete and wishing you all a happy, restful holiday. From all the Headlight team 🥰 🎄

https://mailchi.mp/08dda3d18439/headlight-news-6419105?e=d7295b0293

08/12/2024

A huge "thank you" to the team at Limousine Services Queenstown for selecting Headlight as the recipient of their 12 days of giving campaign!!

Our charity relies on donations and grants to do our important mahi/work and so your gift is really appreciated. 😍

Thank you also for shining a spotlight on our work supporting the mental wellbeing of local communities. ❤️

🎄 12 Days of Christmas Giving – Day 8 🎄

The holiday season is a time of joy for many, but it can also be a challenging time for others, highlighting the importance of mental health and community support. 💚

Today, we’re proud to donate $100 to headlight a Queenstown-based charitable trust making it easier for communities to talk about mental health.

Headlight’s Mission: To increase mental health literacy in our communities, empowering people with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to support their own mental health and actively care for the wellbeing of friends, family, and whānau.

✨ Why We’re Inspired:

⭐️Award-Winning Work: Headlight was the proud winner of the Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Community Contribution Award 2023.

⭐️Incredible Leadership: Their CEO, Anna (the wife of our very own team member Andrew), was a finalist in the “Inspirational Woman” category, recognising her tireless efforts to make mental health education accessible and impactful across the district.
We’re truly impressed by the work Anna and her team are doing to improve the mental wellbeing of Kiwi communities, and we look forward to supporting them further.

📲 Learn more or show your support:
🌐 Website: www.headlight.org.nz

This Christmas, let’s shine a light on mental health, offering support and understanding to those who need it most.

Merry Christmas from team LSQ 😍

04/12/2024

We want to say a huge congratulations to our inspirational team members Anna Dorsey, Anna Wang and past facilitator Carol Morgan who were all finalists at the Inspirational Women Awards past weekend.

Anna Dorsey was a finalist in the "Inspirational Woman" category, in recognition of her efforts supporting the wellbeing of our community and in making mental health education accessible to priority audiences across the district.

Anna Wang was a finalist for the "Resilient Woman" category in recognition of her many efforts connecting and supporting the wellbeing of the Chinese migrant community in Queenstown.

Carol Morgan was a finalist for the "Community Woman" category in recognition of her for advocacy and support for the wellbeing of the Latino and wider migrant community, including her work as a mental health workshop facilitator for Headlight.

They joined other inspirational women from Queenstown and across Aotearoa to recognise the efforts and achievements of women making a difference in our communities.

The uplifting event raised $23K towards a safe house in Queenstown for survivors of domestic abuse, which is great news for our community.

Congratulations again to Julia Strelou for your incredible mahi and to all the wahine who were recognised for their inspirational work helping make our communities stronger, more resilient and more connected. Great work everyone!! 💗 👏 😍

& Gala for Women's Refuge

23/10/2024

We are so happy to share that the Headlight Annual Report for 2023 - 2024 is now live on our website!

This year's report celebrates the many different ways that our passionate team worked to support and increase mental wellbeing in the Queenstown Lakes communities. Some of our key highlights included:

🌟 93 extra people trained through the GoodYarn Community programme, bringing our local total to 481!
🌟 90% of participants reported using the training to support their mental health and/or the mental health of another within 1 to 3 months of participating in a workshop
🌟 Over 100 businesses across the district downloading our Free Mental Health Awareness Week Toolkit to support employee organisations
🌟 Heaps of community talks, events and engagement took place with staff and volunteers across our district - from market stalls to talks at a community dance event!
🌟 Sharing the story of our unique programme on the international mental health stage at the NZ and Australian mental health conference 2023.
🌟 Upskilling our local lived experience community through bringing the Changing Minds Tall Trees Rakau Raroa training to Queenstown
🌟Kick starting our new digital migrant wellbeing programme!
And so much more!!

A HUGE Thank you to our past and current board, operations team, facilitators, funders, communities and ALL who helped us on our journey of increasing mental health literacy and promoting mental wellbeing this past year and beyond. Together we should all feel incredibly proud of the mahi/work we have delivered - and take comfort in knowing that our community is a stronger, healthier and more resilient place as a result of our efforts. Well done to everyone involved. 🥰 👏

For a full breakdown see the report on our website: https://headlight.org.nz/ourimpact

15/10/2024

We're thrilled to be taking part in this exciting community wellbeing event this weekend! Our team members Anna Dorsey and Krista Baker will be facilitating in interactive, fun and uplifting workshop focusing on how people can support their mental wellbeing, particularly when navigating life's ups and downs!

There are still tickets left so if you are free on Saturday and keen to support a good cause, and learn about wellbeing come along! Look forward to seeing you there 😍!

The journey to wellbeing is a holistic one, and it all starts with prioritising YOU. At Remarks Park, we’re fortunate to be home to over 16 health and wellness providers, and we want to share their expertise and friendly faces with our community.

This Mental Health Awareness Week, we invite you to register and join us at our wellbeing expo in October! Spend the day learning from our wonderful specialists, try your hand at mindfulness art, or have a go at a fitness class—all while having fun!

One, of many, highlights of the day is our special guest speaker from headlight, excited to share the '5 Ways to Wellbeing' — designed to equip you with the skills needed to support your own mental health and uplift the wellbeing of friends and family. 🩷✨

Plus, you can win spot prizes, grab goodie bags, and enjoy exclusive deals—all while supporting and raising funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ! 🎀

Limited tickets are available, so register today, wear your best pink outfit, and join us for a vibrant day of health and positivity! 💖

Visit our website for more details!

10/10/2024

It was great to get our community together during to talk about how to support mental wellbeing! A special thanks to our facilitator and Trustee Merle Grimwood-Petterson, who delivered 2 workshops in 2 days!

Firstly we had a good turn out at our fundraising "Burnout, wellbeing and the workplace" workshop at ASB 5 Mile. This important workshop provided practical information about the importance of managing the risk of burnout in the workplace.

On the Saturday, Merle and Anna Wang delivered a mental wellbeing workshop to our local Japanese Family Society of Queenstown as part of their mental health and wellbeing day.

What a busy but important week for our team. Thanks to all those who played there part in pulling these important events together 😃🙏👍