Go With Grace Turns Two: Celebrating Connection, Courage, and Community
This month, Go With Grace turns two! And what an incredible journey it’s been.
When we began, our vision was simple: to make conversations about death, dying, and grief easier, and to support people to plan ahead, care for loved ones, and navigate loss with confidence and compassion. Two years on, that vision continues to grow, thanks to the thousands of people, communities, and partners who’ve joined us along the way.
Listening, Learning, and Sharing
Over the past two years, we’ve listened to stories from people all over Aotearoa – at community events, in hospices, online, and through local networks. Every story, every question, and every conversation helps shape what we do next.
We’ve also connected with incredible experts working in and around ageing, end-of-life planning and dying, who have contributed new resources and guidance to our website, including Advance Care Planning NZ, Organ Donation NZ, A Graceful Undertaking, End of Life Doula Alliance Aotearoa (ELDAA) and the Assisted Dying Service. Their expertise helps us ensure that the information we share is trusted, compassionate, and practical.
Launching Dying Matters Week
One of our proudest milestones was helping to launch Dying Matters Week in 2024, a national event connecting people across Aotearoa to start open conversations about death and dying. Building on amazing efforts by dedicated practitioners across the country in 2023, the first official ‘Dying Matters Week’ in 2024 was very well received, and this year’s event saw people coming together in inspiring numbers:
300+ events
30 towns and cities
100 volunteers
200 speakers
3,000+ attendees
18,000 website visitors
40 libraries
15 hospices
Through these events, thousands of people asked brave questions, shared experiences, and began the difficult — but vital — conversations about end-of-life planning, grief, and care. We’ve learned so much about how we can better support our communities, and we’re deeply grateful for the honesty and courage shown by everyone who has participated.
Connecting through compassion
In 2025, we were honoured to co-host the Compassionate Communities Aotearoa Hui alongside North Haven Hospice in Whangārei, bringing together health providers, community groups, and advocates from across the country. The theme of the hui was ‘Building a Village of Support’, and reminded us that caring for people at the end of life isn’t just a medical issue — it’s an important and compassionate role that should be shared by us all.
We’ve also built new partnerships with hospices around New Zealand, the End-of-Life Doula Alliance Aotearoa (ELDAA), and The Eldernet Group, helping to strengthen networks of care, information, and community support.
From Treza Gallogly, Chair, End of Life Doula Alliance Aotearoa (ELDAA)
Many of us at the End of Life Doula Alliance Aotearoa, have had the pleasure of working alongside Go With Grace as we complement their mahi in a bid to improve the end of life journeys for all across Aotearoa. Katy’s passion for this mahi is evident from her bravery in sharing her own personal stories, as she continues to inspire others living through similar experiences.
Go With Grace hosted this year’s ‘Compassionate Communities’ Hui, where people working across the spectrum of end of life care came together to inspire each other and explore ‘building our communities’. The projected number of deaths across New Zealand is set to double in the next 15 years, and we need to mobilise our Kiwis to take the care of the sick and dying back into their whānau and communities. Education and support of those communities is paramount, and those working in this space need to work together to enable this. Go With Grace put a huge amount of mahi and resources into this event, and continue to support all those in this space.
Go With Grace also propelled ‘Dying Matters Week’, from being just a few events dotted across the motu, to over 250 events in September 2025. A massive achievement. Dying Matters Week comprises events of all kinds – documentaries, workshops, presentations on all things dying and death, death cafes, etc. – and these events are facilitated by Doulas, Hospices, Funeral directors, Celebrants and others working in this space. Go With Grace are the key coordinators and facilitators bringing all the events together, promoting them and financing and organising most of the PR behind them. Without their mahi, none of these events would have been as successful as they were. I do believe that through this work, Go With Grace is instrumental in changing societal attitudes towards dying and death.
The website is also testament to their passion for improving death literacy. It’s a go-to for anyone travelling with incurable illness, advancing in age, or supporting those who are. You can find nearly anything there, and if it’s not there, Katy and Jo will be able to find it.
Thanks to the Go With Grace team for all they do in this space. As Doulas emerge as non-medical holistic navigators for the dying, we are proud to walk alongside Go With Grace on this journey.
Continuing the conversation
Every week, we receive incredible messages of support and gratitude from community members, health professionals, hospices, and businesses around New Zealand. Many tell us how much Go With Grace is needed — and how our work helps spark conversations that might otherwise feel too hard to begin.
We’ve also had growing requests for our printed brochures from libraries, hospices, and workplaces — a sign that people are not only engaging online but also sharing these resources within their communities. Our brochures can be found with Hospices, Retirement Villages, Death Doulas, Community Centres, Funeral Homes, Counsellors, Medical Centres and in homes around New Zealand.
From The Eldernet Group
Western society has become disconnected from dying. It’s seen as scary – a ‘taboo’ topic that we shouldn’t be talking about. Over the past two years, Go With Grace has played a vital role in undoing this. The resources they provide give people the words they may not have had before, and normalises conversations about dying that people are often too afraid to start themselves.
It was an honour to partner with them for the Compassionate Communities Hui and Dying Matters Week earlier this year, with both events proving just how committed Go With Grace is to fostering connections both within the sector and the wider public.
Here at The Eldernet Group we are excited to see them continue to grow, and we look forward to supporting their kaupapa and help give New Zealanders peace of mind when it comes to preparing for the end of life.
From Hospice New Zealand
Celebrating Go with Grace and the generous role it plays. In just two years, Go with Grace has become a treasure box of stories, resources and knowledge to help people prepare for death, care for the dying and live with grief and loss. Offering comfort, honesty and practical advice, Go with Grace shows real leadership in opening up kōrero that matter and stands as a trusted, compassionate guide when people need it most.
Launching our new website
This year we were proud to relaunch the Go With Grace website, updated to make it even easier for people to find trusted information, resources, and support — all in one place. The updated site includes thoughtfully designed ‘journeys’ to better support people who are:
Getting Affairs in Order – to plan ahead with confidence
Planning a Farewell – explore meaningful ways to say goodbye
Caring for a Loved One – find practical guidance and emotional support
Grieving a Loved One – discover comfort, understanding, and community
Over the past two years, we’ve spent time listening and learning. From website feedback to conversations at community events like Dying Matters Week, we’ve heard about the topics that matter most, the worries people carry, and the kind of help that really makes a difference. All of that insight has shaped this fresh new version of the website.
New Ways to Connect
To keep these conversations going, we’ve just launched our very own Go With Grace Podcast — a space to sit down with experts and everyday New Zealanders to talk openly about death, grief, and preparing for the end of life. We hope that each episode will explore real experiences and practical advice, breaking down taboos and helping people feel less alone.
Our hope is that others will be able to find the answers, knowledge, and support they need when getting their affairs in order, grieving, or facing the loss of a loved one. We are slowly recording more compassionate conversations and hope you feel inspired to start your own kōrero.
