Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD Newsletter June 2025

JUNE EDITION

What’s new this month

Tēnā koutou,

Just like that—we’re halfway through the year!

Earlier this month, our leadership applications closed. Once again, we had an incredible pool of strong candidates, and we can’t wait to introduce you to our fantastic new youth leaders—so stay tuned!

Our Delivery Leads have been out on the road, and this term we took a fresh approach to delivery. We offered three different workshop types to meet students where they’re at: an Introduction Workshop for those just getting started, Strengthening Groups & Activities for building momentum, and Lead the Way for students ready to take action.

You may have also seen Kaitiaki o Ara / SADD in the news—we’re famous! Starring our amazing National Leader, Brooke McGhie from Ōrewa College, and the legend herself, General Manager Donna Govorko.

If you missed it, no worries—you can check it out here.

Ngā mihi o te tau hou māori.

Stay warm, stay golden, mauri ora!

Bobbi Hutchinson - Programme Delivery Lead

Drive to the Conditions – Stay Safe This Winter

Winter is here, and with it comes wet roads, fog, icy patches, and darker days. As the seasons shift, it’s more important than ever that we all drive to the conditions.

That means slowing down in the rain, turning your lights on when visibility is low, and leaving extra space between you and the car in front. It's not just about the weather either—it's about staying alert, adapting to what's happening around you, and making smart choices every time you get behind the wheel.

Let’s keep ourselves and our mates safe on the roads this winter. Drive to the conditions, every time.

Delivery Team Highlights!

Our team’s been out and about this term, connecting with some awesome groups across the country! Rongotai College’s new crew are off to a strong start, focusing on helping younger students get their learner licences and planning defensive driving courses and support workshops.

Despite a Taranaki thunderstorm, a handful of dedicated students braved the weather to attend the Term 2 workshop — quality over quantity! Rangitoto College had a fantastic turnout of 138 students, and it’s been great to see more schools rejoining workshops this term.

Waihi College impressed us with 19 engaged students who quickly put their ideas into action — covering cars in the school car park with road safety Post-its just two weeks later! (Mel reckons the Ti Tree Café in Waihi is a must-visit for coffee and breakfast, too!)

Lauren scored a massive Lakeview room upgrade in Queenstown and loved catching up with successful groups in the lower south. Mark enjoyed being back on the road, visiting epic groups in Oamaru, Dunedin, and Timaru.

Ka rawe, team! 🚗✨

A Splash of Colour to Celebrate Youth Week

As part of Youth Week 2025, rangatahi in Whanganui stepped up to lead an unforgettable event—the Koea Colour Run.

Young leaders took the reins- designing, organising, and delivering a community-focused colour run at Springvale Park. With colourful powder, music, fun challenges, and local youth services such as SADD present at checkpoints, the event was not only a celebration of creativity and community spirit but also a powerful showcase of rangatahi leadership during Youth Week.

Road Safety Week
Mila & Brooke

It was a super proud moment to attend the Road Safety Week launch in Auckland. Donna had the pleasure of co-presenting about SADD with one of our amazing National Leaders, Brooke McGhie. We were also represented by Mila Smith de Zeeuw, who won the Yellow Ribbon, Road Safety Hero Award!

SASTA: Safe and Sustainable Transport Association

SADD recently attended the SASTA conference in Wellington. It was a fantastic opportunity to network with other organisations promoting road safety in our communities. Donna had the pleasure of co-presenting with Sterling Maxwell and Deklin Frew-Parks, who are past and current SADD students. A great way to celebrate SADD's 40 years of youth-led road safety action.

Sterling has volunteered with SADD for seven years since she was in Year 9 at Gisborne Girls’ High School. She has helped lead her peers in an environment where it was difficult to change the mindsets of those around her. Sterling put her hand up to be the first Youth Representative on the SADD Board and has helped the Board to better understand what young people are thinking and doing. She coordinated a large survey looking into the reasons behind driver licence breaches. It received over 500 responses, and she’s shared the results with Waka Kotahi and the Ministry of Transport. She’s also been working with others on ways to make SADD more accessible to rangatahi Māori, helping to set up our Māori advisory group and contributing to SADD’s new Māori name - Kaitiaki o Ara. Her work mentoring other young leaders and influencing activity at the governance level has really helped SADD to remain student-led. That is why she won the Yellow Ribbon Road Safety Hero Award in 2022.

Deklin is a current Regional Leader with a passion for helping to raise awareness about Motorcycle and Scooter safety. He has led workshops alongside the Wellington City Council, ACC, NZ Police and the Motorcycle Collective in schools to help educate youth about the importance of staying safe while enjoying the ride.

Deklin and Sterling are amazing advocates for SADD and we are so proud to have them represent our organisation and help empower young Kiwis to prevent loss on our roads, to help build a positive road safety culture.

We also had the pleasure of presenting SADD's valued partner contribution award to Marion Webby. Marion goes above and beyond to help her community stay safe on our roads. She supports the rangatahi/youth in her community to run SADD events, workshops, and raise awareness to promote safer road user behaviours.

From local workshops to national campaigns, there’s always something happening with SADD. Check out our events page for what’s coming up and how you can be part of the movement for safer roads.

Check out the 2025 SADD Events Page!

This month, we want to express our gratitude and deepest thanks to:

AS, SK, PN, ET & JT from Auckland, ER from Taranaiki, TH from New Plymouth, HL from Rotorua, HL from Nelson, AC, RS, SS & LW from Christchurch, PG from Dunedin and HB from Wanaka.

Your generosity is much appreciated. Stay safe.