What is Connection Week?

Connection is very important to the Crusaders, both in building our culture and genuinely engaging with our wider whanau. We work together with charities like I Am Hope to use our platform and voice to create real positive change for our community. We encourage vulnerability, self-improvement and a deliberate approach to mental well-being. 

Internally we champion connection, eye contact and being present. More than just a fist bump, a high five, an arm around the shoulders – it's about genuinely greeting colleagues and visitors, and sincerely listening to others to give us all a deeper understanding of each other.

Today, 22 May 2023, we launch Connection Week. Throughout the week, our friends at Chemist Warehouse are raising money for I Am Hope and our own Crusade with Heart Foundation is jumping on board. Together we want to help young Kiwis become mentally resilient, while changing the conversation about mental health.

I Am Hope has a simple but challenging goal – positive societal attitudinal change. Young Kiwi struggle with distressing self-talk and overthinking, and this can often lead to them feeling isolated and alone. By showing them that everyone has these thoughts, they don’t feel alone, they are more likely to talk about their emotions, and we can give our kids a better life.

So what are the Crusaders doing to help?

Together with our Alumni, our current players, up-and-coming players, our Matatū sisters, our staff, and our friends at I Am Hope, we are embarking on a week of activities, activations and gestures to show what connection means to us.

Check out all the things we’re doing as a team and a community to bring people together to connect and share:

I Am Hope facilitates counselling sessions for young people through their initiative Gumboot Friday, and it’s that cause that funds raised through Connection week will go towards.