From one little fire story, to an innovative collective community funding model and a youth sector learning haerenga
How One Story Sparked a Chain of Innovation and Collaboration
The Lots of Little Fires video featuring youth worker Thomas Hunt at Western Community Centre in 2024 did more than showcase the dedication of local youth workers — it sparked a chain of innovation and cross-sector collaboration across the Waikato. The impact began by placing the expertise and voice of Western Community Centre at the centre of the conversation, using it as a unifying focal point around which trust and supportive relationships could grow. From this foundation, incredible activations and collaborations have taken place.
The story highlighted urgent needs: fair pay and stable contracts for community-based youth workers, more positive role models for rangatahi, and access to meaningful spaces and opportunities. It also revealed a pressing community priority: a dedicated youth hub at Western Community Centre to proactively meet growing demand.
Following the video, a community funding collaboration began later in 2024. CEO Melissa Gibson of the Len Reynolds Trust led the process, inviting multiple local philanthropic trusts to meet with Western Community Centre staff, youth workers, and their board. Together, they explored how $300,000 in combined funding could leverage a $1 million Lotteries Facility Fund grant to activate the youth hub build process. Melissa and Joe Wilson led this collaboration, culminating in a successful community funding partnership: all funders came on board, and the new youth hub at Western Community Centre is now confirmed, with construction set to begin in February 2026.
With the funding underway, Melissa partnered with Lots of Little Fires, the Waikato Wellbeing Project, and Waikato youth sector leaders to fund a learning and design trip to Ōtautahi (Christchurch) earlier in 2025. The Waikato delegation — including Western Community Centre, Manaaki Rangatahi ki Waikato, Seed Waikato, Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa, Hamilton City Council, Here to Help U, and Len Reynolds Trust — met with Christchurch-based youth organisations to share knowledge, explore innovative youth hub models, and learn from each other.
The group was welcomed by a range of organisations across Christchurch, including:
- Christchurch Youth Hub – a purpose-built, integrated space for youth aged 10–25, offering housing and wraparound services.
- Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi – a deeply relational, whānau-centred organisation with a papakāinga-style approach to youth support that many found particularly inspiring.
- Canterbury Youth Workers Collective – offering training, supervision, and networks for those working with young people, grounded in a strong ethics framework.
- Te Tahi Youth, Youthline, and others – each offering unique insights into clinical services, peer mentoring, youth voice, and co-design.
Several key themes emerged from the trip:
- Place and purpose go hand in hand – physical spaces that are warm, welcoming, and designed with young people create real shifts in how rangatahi engage.
- Collaboration takes more than shared space – it relies on trust, shared vision, and strong relationships between kaimahi and organisations.
- Kaupapa Māori leadership strengthens everyone – models grounded in tikanga and manaakitanga created some of the most powerful examples of youth development observed.
This journey is more than a learning trip — it is the next stage in a growing ripple of innovation. Insights from Christchurch will directly inform the design and future use of the youth hub, ensuring it meets the real needs of rangatahi and the wider community.
At Lots of Little Fires, we are proud to see how sharing one story can ignite leadership, collaboration, and tangible change — a powerful reminder that storytelling is a catalyst for impact when combined with community expertise, trust, visionary leadership, and collective action.
