March Wellness Month – More Than Just Getting Active

March was all about movement, community, and hauora for the Dream Team and Dreamers from across our partner schools! From pounding the pavements and climbing mountains to lunchtime conga lines, our team embraced every opportunity to be active and role model the benefits of movement for our Dreamers.

The month started strong with several of our Navigators, team members, Dreamers, and their whānau joining thousands of Northlanders for the Chilltech Beach to Basin event on Sunday, 2 March. This year, Sport Northland selected I Have a Dream and Life Education Trust as their chosen charities, raising over $1,000 to support our work, while also bringing awareness of I Have a Dream to the 1,800 participants.

One of the event’s highlights was Whaea Rose’s brilliant idea to collect dreams along the way. She and her dreamers wore specially made tees that included space for participants to share their dreams at each 1km mark. These dreams—ranging from swimming with dolphins to learning the electric guitar, became powerful motivators, reminding everyone to push forward and never give up, no matter the challenges.

Dreamers were sponsored to enter the event by members of the community and ran or walked alongside their Navigators.

Adding to the fun, other team members dressed in tutus and superhero costumes, spreading joy to spectators and volunteers alike!

Another major challenge our team embraced was the Classic 100 Northland – a 100-km movement challenge throughout March. This is the sixth year that Classic Builders Northland has hosted the Classic 100, and we were honoured to be their 2025 charity partner.

Through their work as building and development work, Classic Builders employ many young people, some of whom have been through the I Have a Dream programme. They have seen I Have a Dream in action and the impact it is having at a local level and wanted to support us, which we greatly appreciate.

Our own Dream Team signed up to the challenge and helped raise awareness and money towards the final total of an incredible $14,888. The total kilometres completed by the Dream Team was an impressive 904ks and our top scoring participants were – Whaea Naomi (120ks) and Whaea Bailey (106ks), and Whaea Nix (100ks).

These same three Navigators also completed the BDO Parihaka Trail Run which added to their Classic 100 final tally. Sponsored by BDO and PAK’nSAVE Whangarei, this event is part of the Sport Northland Events Run/Walk Series and offers competitors three distance options: a half marathon, a 12 km run, and a 5 km fun run/walk.

After a beautiful welcome from Hātea Kapa Haka, our Navigators joined hundreds of others on a breathtaking but challenging route through native bush, forestry, and mountain bike trails. With team members cheering them on, Whaea Nix, Whaea Bailey, and Whaea Gnomes completed the race with huge smiles!

March Wellness Month became about more than just hitting step targets and completing events – it reshaped the way we work, move, and support each other.

Those who didn’t sign up for events still played a key role, offering encouragement and celebrating every milestone. Walking huis replaced sit-down meetings, and even our primary school Dreamers were inspired to start running teams!

We’ve truly led by example, showing our Dreamers the power of staying active and lifting each other up.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part or supported us, especially Classic Builders Northland, Sport Northland, and their event sponsors. We also want to give a special shout out to our Dream Partner ReSport Charitable Trust who continue to support us and our Dreamers and provided new shoes for our Dreamer Reign, who completed the Classic 100 alongside his amazing whānau.

More FM interviews Classic Builders Scott Coutts and I Have a Dream Funding and Partnership Manager Jodie Hannam.

Classic Builders Scott Coutts and I Have a Dream Funding and Partnership Manager Jodie Hannam talk about the 2025 Classic 100.