Te Hau Toka Southern Lakes Wellbeing Group has funded 110 groups in its penultimate Connecting Communities funding round, with each receiving up to $1000 to help run community-led activities.
Group chairwoman Adell Cox said the response and calibre of applications were "simply outstanding".
"Applications increased nearly 40% — up from a record number last time — which shows how motivated our communities are to improve their wellbeing.
"We’re loving seeing groups join forces on initiatives and smaller places like Milford Sound coming up with community-wide ideas to bring everyone together."
Recipients included international community cooking workshops at Queenstown’s Happiness House; shared equipment for Manapouri Community Pool; carer get-togethers in Queenstown and Cromwell; youth-led weekly Pickleball sessions for youth and parents at Wānaka’s new Paetara Aspiring Central; "Make it MINT" upcycling workshops for individuals with disabilities by MINT Trust and Wānaka Community Workshop; Fiordland Multicultural Community Holi (Colour) Party in Te Anau; Milford’s Got Talent and Milford Movie Nights; "Netwalking" run by the Queenstown Business Chamber; a Queenstown Lakes Clued Up Kids programme; volunteer welfare resources for St John’s Central Otago Major Incident Support Team; and a range of community Christmas activities.
Applications from Fiordland and Cromwell were particularly strong in this round, with recipients receiving funding for a range of new ideas as well as building on existing successful initiatives, Ms Cox said.
One of these was formalising a Fiordland Community Choir after the Fiordland Performing Arts Club successfully piloted group singing time at its monthly get-togethers.
"Everyone’s really looking forward to it," organiser Sandra Harry said.
"The choir will meet weekly and everyone’s welcome — there will be no audition process.We know how good singing is for wellbeing and believe that this will really benefit our community.
"Singing lowers stress and anxiety levels, and by learning a new skill, improving and being part of a group, it boosts people’s confidence, self-esteem and energy.
"It’s also a great mindfulness activity — the amount of concentration needed means you switch off from distractions and just enjoy the moment."
Another new initiative funded was Cromwell Community House hosting and co-facilitating "Working Well" tradies breakfasts.
Cromwell Community House manager Karen Palmer said the aim was to bring small groups of businesses together over breakfast to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and fitness in a group setting which was less confronting than one-to-one.
"We’ll also share the Five Ways to Wellbeing and how these can be applied in construction and trade settings."
Te Hau Toka introduced the Connecting Communities fund in November 2021 as part of its efforts to combat the ongoing mental health impacts of Covid-19.
Since then, there have been seven funding rounds, 439 recipients and more than $410,000 injected across Fiordland, Queenstown, Wānaka and Cromwell to help people improve mental wellbeing, social connection and resilience.
With the Covid-related government funding coming to a close, the final Connecting Communities funding round is set for April next year. Eligible not-for-profit groups can apply for up to $1000 including GST to support community-focused mental wellbeing initiatives.
- By Nina Tapu
