On Thursday night, 20 November, my business partner and best friend, Catherine Hutton, and I sat in a room filled with remarkable people and organisations at the 2025 Telstra Best of Business Awards national gala. We were there as the New South Wales Winner in the Championing Health category, representing a field that often goes unspoken until a crisis arrives: end of life.
Preparing the Way began in 2014 with a clear intention: to bring conversations about death and dying out of the shadows, to grow end of life literacy in our communities, and to equip end of life doulas and carers with real world skills and support.
The Championing Health category is about businesses that shift the way health and wellbeing look and feel in Australia. To be recognised as the New South Wales Winner is already a powerful acknowledgement that end of life doula care and education are part of that health story.
What the journey gave us
Although Preparing the Way was not the national winner, the process itself has been deeply valuable.
Working through the Telstra application required us to step back and look at our whole body of work with fresh eyes. We examined our impact, our numbers, our processes, our culture and our plans for the future.
We were surprised, in a good way, by the scale of what we have built. Thousands of people have now passed through our training. Not only end of life doulas, individuals, families, carers and aged care staff, but also support workers and health professionals. Together they are changing how end of life care is offered and experienced in homes, hospitals, aged care facilities and communities.
We were affirmed by what the data and stories revealed: skilled, compassionate end of life support reduces fear, increases confidence, and leads to gentler, more dignified experiences for families and staff.
The process also sharpened our focus. It highlighted the areas where we can strengthen our systems and structures to continue growing with integrity. It invited us to be even clearer about our role in a rapidly changing health and aged care landscape.
Honoured to stand beside other purpose-led organisations
One of the greatest gifts of this journey has been the chance to stand alongside other businesses working to make a real difference. From other health innovators to social enterprises and regional changemakers, the awards have brought together people who care deeply about the communities they serve.
We congratulate all finalists and winners across all categories. A shared thread runs through all of these stories: a desire to leave things better than we found them, to create services, products and systems that genuinely improve lives.
Being in the room felt like being with a big group of end of life doulas, parking the ego at the door and leading with heart, all championing each other in the process. It was wonderful to be amongst them.
Out of over 20,000 nominations, Preparing the Way was one of only 49 state and territory finalists across six categories, and being named NSW winner in the Championing Health category is a remarkable achievement.
This recognition belongs to many
Being named New South Wales Winner in Championing Health is not just about Preparing the Way. It belongs to many hands and hearts.
I’d like to start with my deep gratitude to my Master Teachers for their guidance, inspiration and encouragement. They are truly my greatest gifts.
To our dedicated team, past and present, who keep the wheels turning and the heart of our work beating from behind the scenes.
To our educators and trainers, who hold brave, tender spaces for learning, reflection and often deep emotion.
To our students, graduates and legends, who carry this work into aged care, health services, community organisations, private practice and family homes every day.
To our collaborators and allies across health, allied health, aged care, community and death care, who have been willing to innovate and bring end of life doulas into their work.
We particularly want to mention Libby Moloney of Natural Grace Holistic Funeral Care, Julie Fletcher of Essential Skills Training and Recruitment and Doula Connections, and their teams. We wouldn’t be here without you all. Thank you for your continued support and for championing Catherine and me, our team, and the doulaverse.
We especially dedicate this award to every person who cares for others: to doctors, nurses, care workers, counsellors, funeral workers, support staff, volunteers, neighbours, family and friends, in regional and rural communities and in our cities. Each of you is part of the web of care that surrounds people when life takes difficult turns.
Every one of us will encounter ageing, dying and death–our own or someone we love. This recognition is for you and because of you.
Looking ahead to 2026
Not taking home the national trophy does not change our direction. In many ways, this experience has strengthened it.
As we look toward 2026, our priorities are clear. To keep expanding access to quality end of life doula education and care. To deepen partnerships with organisations that want to support their staff and communities better at the end of life. To build strong systems and support for the doulas who trust us with their training and ongoing development.
The landscape around end of life care is shifting. There is growing interest from health services, aged care providers and workplaces in how to better support people through serious illness, dying and grief. We intend to keep stepping forward with clarity, humility and courage.
We will be working in corporate and workplace spaces to take doula support where people work and live, and juggle multiple hats as workers, carers, and all that life brings.
With gratitude and an open invitation
To our community, thank you for every enrolment, every conversation, every referral and every quiet word of encouragement along the way. Thank you to Telstra and especially all the finalists and winners who are also working to create a kinder, more just and healthier world. Sharing this space with you has been an honour.
If you would like to stay connected, hear what is next, or explore how end of life doula training or end of life education could support you, your family or your organisation, we would love to keep in touch. Subscribe to our blog below.
Together we have got this!
Helen Callanan
Founder & Lead Educator
Helen is a practising end of life doula and the Founder, Managing Director, and Lead Educator of Preparing the Way. With nearly 40 years of experience in traditional Chinese medicine and Reiki and working with the aging, very ill, and dying, Helen brings profound insight into health and the ‘circle of life’.