The spark is spreading beyond the Adelaide Hills — and into new communities ready to strengthen connection and belonging. Our team has been busy laying the groundwork for the rollout of Spark across the Murray Bridge and Alexandrina regions.
We’re thrilled to announce that our team of Sparkies received an Active Citizenship Award at the 2026 Citizen of the Year Awards on Friday for their amazing dedication to Spark. These wonderful individuals devote their time and talents to building meaningful connections and reducing loneliness across the Adelaide Hills and beyond.
Working from home has its perks, but for many, it can also lead to loneliness. Adelaide Hills resident Andrea knows this well. Running her own business from home, she often takes her laptop to a local café to work. “I find I get more done when there are people around,” says Andrea. “It’s easier to stay focused and I feel less isolated.”
She’s not alone. This practice (sometimes referred to as ‘body doubling’) is a simple yet powerful technique that can help remote workers stay productive and connected.
On Saturday, we marked one year of our volunteers igniting connection in the Hills with a Sparkie debrief and planning session. Designed to bring us all together, we shared our stories of connection and discussed the successes, challenges and ideas for the future of Spark.
It’s been 12 months since we kicked off our first community initiative with a Spark Conversation session in Balhannah. Since then, we have launched 6 initiatives and recorded over 1000 attendances at 193 events across the Adelaide Hills, helping to spark many friendships and countless moments of connection and belonging.
Essential to this level of community reach are our volunteers (Sparkies). They are our curators of connection – the fabulous team that devotes their time and energy to hosting our initiatives and working in the background to spread the word
While our Sparkies are out and about sparking connection in the community, Spark is also busy behind the scenes, working with experts to turn research into bigger-picture change. We’re delighted to be working with the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation (CHiAPRT), whose invaluable guidance is helping Spark shape government policy around loneliness. Acting as a bridge between research and policy, CHiAPRT ensures that evidence doesn’t just sit on a spreadsheet – it gets translated into meaningful action. Their team led by Carmel Williams is helping us understand the pathways to influence decision-makers, how best to present our findings, and the steps needed to see our research drive lasting change.
Niki, a counsellor in the Adelaide Hills, always felt like an outsider. As a child, she never quite belonged. As an adult—amid other parents, peers and even church friends—she still felt alone. “Everyone else seemed to be connecting but me” said Niki.
Loneliness isn’t just Niki’s story. Nearly one in three Australians report feeling lonely, with one in six experiencing severe loneliness, according to the 2023 State of the Nation report. Chronic loneliness doubles your risk of long-term illness, spikes the chances of depression nearly 5-fold and anxiety over 4-fold. It’s also tied to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cognitive decline, and even early mortality.
Join us for a special calendar of connection-boosting activities in Loneliness Awareness Week (4–10 August) presented by Ending Loneliness Together. This year’s campaign, ‘Moments Matter’ is shaped around a simple truth – whilst forming connections takes time and effort, it often starts with a small moment. With special thanks to the Awesome Foundation for their generous support of our activities this week including pizza night at Spark Mateship, a book reading at Spark Conversation, a crafty afternoon at Kanmantoo and more.
We’re thrilled to announce that we have received a significant grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to continue and expand our work tackling loneliness and fostering stronger, more connected communities. The Adelaide Hills will remain our base of operations and focus, whilst we extend our reach into the Alexandrina and Murray Bridge council areas. “We are so grateful to the NHMRC for their faith in us. Spark has shown how powerful community-led action can be in reducing loneliness. This funding will enable us to strengthen our offering and reach more communities across South Australia, and to continue building the evidence base for what truly empowers communities to take action.” says Dr Nadia Corsini, Spark Co-Creator and Senior Research Fellow, UniSA
A new Spark Conversation group is being planned for the Macclesfield General Store. We have two enthusiastic Sparkies already but we’re on the hunt for two or three more to make this group a success. Do you enjoy connecting with people? Are you a good listener? Are you willing to learn how to create an inclusive and welcoming environment to encourage others to connect? We would love to hear from you. Connect with Hayley for more details on email or call 8339 4400.
