4 easy things you can do to get started this year
Nau mai, haere mai and welcome to 2023. Seeing as this is our second blog for the year we thought that we would get the ball rolling with ‘4 easy things you can do to get started with SADD in school this year’. Road safety is such an awesome and worthwhile cause to get behind, and you can have a lot of fun making a difference.
#1 - Check out our website
Our website has heaps of great info, tools, resources and ideas to help you get going with the SADD programme. It is by far the first place you want to start out. Have a good browse, but here are a few pages to not miss out on.
Activities and Resources Hub - This has lots of ideas and examples of ways you can get involved practically. https://www.sadd.org.nz/activities-resource-hub
Our blog - This has heaps of stories, interviews, tips and tricks that will help you get that behind the scenes understanding of what other people are involved with Kaitiaki o ara/SADD. It is also pretty inspiring! https://www.sadd.org.nz/sadd-blog
Our Message - This page gives you a quick insight into some of the key info about Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD, and about why road safety is an important issue to be focussing on. It is a great overview. https://www.sadd.org.nz/our-message
Get free stuff - Order some of our free resources to help your group get started, we have a great new selection of posters dropping at the beginning of March. https://www.sadd.org.nz/get-free-stuff
#2 - Get along to a term one workshop if there is one in your region
These workshops involve stuff like:
Learning about Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD
Being inspired to make a difference
Practical information that can empower you to get started
Getting to know some new people
Doing some planning and practical activities
Having fun, and having some kai
Learning about opportunities coming up throughout the year
They are the ideal way to really understand our mahi, and you will hopefully leave feeling really inspired to make a difference in your community! Our Delivery Team will help you find out where/when you nearest workshop is.
#3 - Reach out to your local Delivery Lead
Young people who reach out and make the most of our Programme Delivery Team here at Kaitiaki o Ara, are much more likely to be successful because it is literally the Delivery Team’s job to help you get involved and support you to to be successful. We can give you community connections, come visit you in school, help you with ideas, and much more. So don’t be shy, we are here to help. See the team and what regions they cover here: https://www.sadd.org.nz/contact-us
#4 - Start your Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD group
At first this can seem overwhelming and like a big job, but all you really need to do to get started is to find a couple of students that are interested in learning more and making a difference. Then you can go through the above 3 steps with your group and get going, easy!
Some other things to talk about with your group as you get started could be:
What road safety issues do you think might be impacting your peers/community?
Is there a simple activity or message you could get out to your peers this term to get the ball rolling?
Who at school (teacher etc), could help support you?
There are heaps of other ways to get involved, these 4 steps are just a starting point. If you have been involved with Kaitiaki o Ara/SADD for a while, and have an established group we would still encourage you to go through these steps, you will get something out of each of them we are sure. Also we recommend taking some time at the beginning of this term to plan out your year, make some goals for what you would like to achieve, and reach out to our Delivery Team to help you out. Can’t wait to see what you all get up to!