ADHD NZ's 2019 annual general meeting - president's report

By Darrin Bull, President, ADHD NZ

As is the custom this time of year, we've reflected on how far we have come as an organisation and a community. With an estimated 30,000 ADHD'rs in New Zealand, we sit back and consider the impact we have had and how we have grown over the last five years.

Our progress is significant - we are now ADHD New Zealand, with a 6,500 strong social media group, a website with nearly 40,000 hits a year, our conference going from strength to strength, with 400 participants last year and we even have 50 children attending basketball each week.

We have grown with the support of so many, and we continue to attract sponsors and funders. However, despite our results, our passion, our progress, this is not enough.

You only need to read our social media pages to see how many children, families, and adults are in crisis. Those who find it hard to get an education, to get the help they need, to maintain a job, and you realise how much work there is still to do. However, there is a reality that despite all the help and support we get, it's not enough to make a real impact.

With that in mind, over the next three years, you'll see a significant change in focus and impact. I'm looking for ADHD New Zealand to triple in size and to make a bigger difference. We'll be able to do this by better use of digital technology, building our networks, and having a belief that we can make the impossible, possible. Our focus will be on improving the capability and capacity of our schools to help children who have ADHD and their families. To provide facilities and improved access to those who need it; to be able to go to the government and get the help that we need.

Of course, this won’t be easy. We need capacity and capability, and for that, we need money and lots of it. This is key, and over the next year, there will be a renewed focus on increasing our income and particularly our fundraising. We will need talented members of our community to help us achieve our ambition.

We believe our members have super-powers and that they can make a fantastic difference to New Zealand. We need to harness these super-powers as an organisation to achieve our simple ambition, to support, to inform and advance.

Special thanks to:
  • our Sponsors and Funders: Lottery Grants Board, Foundation North, Harbour Sport, Four Winds, The Trusts Community Foundation and the ongoing newsletter sponsorship of Enzo Nutraceuticals
  • our Facebook facilitators: Tracey Rountree, Jeanette Hobbs, Florence Prosser, Louise Matheson, Anita Easton, Anna Redgrave and Danika Dwyer
  • our fantastic National Coordinator: Marceline Borren
  • Di Wellacott, for years of service; Ross Dellow for managing the adult meet up every month; Sophia Graham for volunteering, and
  • our amazing event designer: Chris Thomas.
Photo by StockSnap