First Light in the news

Healing broken hearts

By Frances Whiting

They met, fell in love and thought they would spend the rest of their lives together … until tragedy struck. A support group for young widows gives hope.

Presently, there are more than 20,000 young widows in Australia under the age of 40, and Rebecca Adams is one of them. Adams, now 40, was 33 when she lost her husband Dan just six weeks after their 2013 wedding.

In 2015, Adams, along with two other Brisbane women, Carren Stapleton and Lauren Leslie Carr, founded First Light, a not-for-profit organisation that links young widows across Australia, providing face-to-face and online support. On May 15 and 16, the organisation is hosting Australia’s first Camp Widow (which originated and is based in the United States) at Brisbane’s Stamford Plaza hotel.

Telling their story to Qweekend are five young widows who are attending the camp, and who hope, as widower Alex Bettes says, “someone who needs to, hears it.”

For more information, visit the online article (subscriber content) or read the downloaded article here. 

Camp Widow Australia is coming to Brisbane

First Light president Rebecca Adams had a chat to 4BC's Olympia Kwitowski about Camp Widow Australia.

The first ever Camp Widow® Australia will take place in Brisbane at the Stamford Plaza Brisbane on the weekend of Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 May, 2021.

For more information, or to buy tickets, visit www.firstlight.org.au/camp-widow

Young widow: 'I'm running for Daniel because he can't'

By Jo Smith-Hooker 

FOUR years ago Jo Smith-Hooker was preparing to conquer a bucket list item - to run her first half marathon, alongside her husband Daniel.

This Sunday, Jo will again line up to run the 21km distance at the Gold Coast.

This time she is running to raise awareness and funds for First Light Widowed Association, an organisation that she is incredibly passionate about.

Two months after their first half marathon, Daniel died instantly in a motorbike accident on Mt Archer. Jo was 36 and their daughters 8 and 11.

For more information, visit the online article. 

Kate Donaghy sets running challenge

By Derek Barry 

Young Mount Isa widow Kate Donaghy is bravely raising awareness for the unheralded cause of supporting widows with the challenging task of getting on with their life, by running at the upcoming Gold Coast Airport Marathon.

For more information, visit the online article. 

"We lost our husbands too young, but we're here for each other"

By Kylie Stevenson

The national Body and Soul magazine featured the stories of the First Light founders Rebecca, Lauren and Carren, and how they connected through their grief and went on to start an organisation to support widowed people around Australia. 

For more information, visit the online article.