The story of Burn Bright begins with another organisation, Rising Generations. Founded by Bec Heinrich and Tina Cameron, Rising Generations quickly grew to be one of Australia’s top organisations facilitating leadership programs. After 10 years and working with more than 100,000 students, they came to a natural finish in 2013.
With growing momentum, Burn Bright delivered 40 leadership programs and formed a Board. The year ended with the exciting announcement: Burn Bright would carry on the legacy of the National Leadership Camp starting in 2016.
Burn Bright ran its first ever National Leadership Camp in July 2016, bringing together students and volunteer mentors from across Australia. It marked a powerful turning point in our story and solidified our place as a trusted leader in student leadership experiences.
We launched our first digital leadership and wellbeing programs to support schools and individuals beyond face-to-face delivery. Since launch, over 34,000 students have enrolled in Burn Bright’s digital courses.
Burn Bright New Zealand was launched to inspire and support young Kiwis with their own dedicated team and Board. Though Covid-19 delayed expansion, Burn Bright NZ continues to plan for future impact.
Despite global challenges, Burn Bright continued to grow its reach across Australia and New Zealand, adapting programs for online and hybrid delivery. We strengthened partnerships, expanded our team, and deepened our impact in schools.
Burn Bright continues to lead the way in student leadership and wellbeing. With innovation, evidence-based strategies, and a passionate team, we remain committed to empowering the next generation to thrive and lead with purpose.
Who we are and where we’re going all stems back to our values, the things that make our heart beat and our feet keep moving forward. These values shape our interactions with each other, with students, with staff and parents, and shape our future decisions too.
HEART CENTRED
BETTER NEVER STOPS
BE DARING
SERVE OUTSIDE THE SPOTLIGHT
EMBRACE YOUR STORY
CELEBRATE QUIRK, BRING JOY
PUT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS FIRST
Burn Bright’s program development and delivery are based upon our theory of change. Our theory of change is an evidence based plan that focuses on a young person’s psychological growth and development. Our theory of change is Burn Bright’s formal plan for its activities that promote the prevention of mental illness in young people within Australia.Our wellbeing programs specifically target psychological wellbeing based upon risk and protective factors of mental health. You can see more about our theory of change and evidence we use to build, design and deliver our programs by clicking below.There is no ‘one size, fits all’ approach, each and every Burn Bright program is highly focused, tailored and adapted to needs of the students and the school. Burn Bright’s curriculum is focused on demonstrating how students can turn theory into action by practising and road-testing skills learnt before applying them in their own lives. To reinforce this, we provide follow-up opportunities to encourage students to make the change last.
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Burn Bright Leaders lead by example. They have demonstrated the capacity, skill sets and personal attributes to inspire their students to embrace the notion and actions required to become leaders themselves.
All Burn Bright programs have a minimum of two leaders irrespective of the size of the group, allowing them to cater to the personalities and learning styles of all students. Every Burn Bright Leader is a strong communicator. When they talk to students our Leaders use real stories and life experiences that build credibility, rapport and a sense of a shared understanding.
Most importantly, our Leaders are like family. We prioritise building meaningful relationships within our team so when we facilitate in schools, we are able to model authentic and positive relationships .
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