It’s really important to us that we open the conversation about grief and raise awareness of its long-term impacts on young Kiwis, including the need for the right support at the right time. This is what inspired our #DearGrief campaigns.
It’s a chance to explore what grief means to you and other Kiwis.
Grief leaves a lasting imprint on your life, which you carry your whole life. By talking about grief and normalising it, we can begin to navigate and process it.
Our #DearGrief campaign runs in November every few years, to run alongside the international Children’s Grief Awareness Week and Kenzie’s birthday.
2018 saw 2 young tāne / men who lost their siblings, Conor Burling and Luka Wolfgram, championing our first #DearGrief campaign to start the conversation about grief. Twelve years after the loss of his 3-year-old sister, Kenzie, Conor shared his #DearGrief story through his memorial tattoo he had done in her honour. Luka Wolfgram was just 13 when he lost his younger brother, Kosta to childhood cancer. He coped by creating short films about his journey with grief.
Our 2020 #DearGrief campaign included a photo exhibition in central Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland; a poignant letter of support from HRH The Duke of Cambridge; and real Kiwis, including our ambassador Nigel Latta , sharing their messages to grief.
