It’s been an unsettling and busy few months for everyone, and that has definitely been the case here at We Care. As well as the heartbreaking stories we hear about the children who need our help, we are continually inspired and feel united by this community who never fail to support us with donations of much needed children’s items, your time, and financial donations.
In the first half of this year you have helped out 792 children, providing over 18,183 items of clothing, 36 cots, 53 prams and 52 car seats – WOW! In May we held our first ‘pop-up’ May-Be Baby Donation Drive in Terrigal, and were blown away with all of the donations we received – so a big thank you everyone who got behind this new idea.
The number of requests we’re receiving from case workers throughout the Coast is slowly increasing. The impact of CoVID-19 is continuing to hit our community, and we are determined and ready to help as many children as we can.
Behind the scenes at We Care
This month, we take you behind the scenes of our ‘We Care Sewers’, an incredible bunch of supporters who sew, knit, quilt and crochet! We are so fortunate to be supported by several groups of ladies who make absolutely beautiful quilts for us that we give out with our linen packs to brighten up our children’s lives. They must bring so much joy!
Recently, however, we received some quilted squares along with a delivery of a bundle of the fabulous quilts that had us puzzled. They were different sizes so we couldn’t sew them together into a quilt and they were too small for a bassinet or a pram. Then after a couple of morning teas we came up with a perfect solution – we could make them into little girl’s over the shoulder carry-bags so she could be just like mum! We took them to the Toys Section and packed them with a doll and some other goodies to complete the presentation.
Program news – Fourth Trimester
Our Fourth Trimester program supports mums and families with the essentials they need to set up home with a newborn. Items can include smaller pieces such as baby clothes, swaddles and wraps, nappies, wipes, breast pumps, baby bottles or formula to larger one off items such as high chairs, baby mats, change tables and nappy bags. The ability to nourish a newborn baby is a fundamental human right, we work to ensure families are well equipped to provide for their children.
A big thank you to the Sisters of Charity Foundation who support our Fourth Trimester program.
Volunteer village – Introducing Wendy
Wendy never arrives at the base empty handed, she will always bring in donations from one of our drop off locations – and carrying a million things! Wendy looks after the Boys 2-5 year old clothing area, so once she’s dropped off any bags in the sorting area, she will start to pack orders. There’s normally 3 or 4 bundles of clothing to prepare, depending on the requests that have come in from case workers. No matter what day it is, a typical day is always very busy! Once Wendy has prepared the boy’s clothing requests from her area, she might help out in the linen or toy area – and loves that all of the volunteers are there to help each other out.
If you are interested in volunteering at We Care Connect, please head to our website for more information: https://www.wecareconnect.org.au/volunteer/
Why we do what we do
Based on 2016 Census data there are around 10,000 children below the poverty line in our idyllic Central Coast which is appalling. The good news is that together we are doing something about this and making a real difference in the lives of so many of these kids.
What we need next
We’re definitely in the thick of the colder months, and desperately need warm winter clothing and blankets for the children we support – particularly older children.
And we’re starting to get low on cots so if your child is just about to outgrow their cot, please think of us! Our drop off locations are throughout the Coast, and you can see them on our website here: https://www.wecareconnect.org.au/drop-off-locations/
Thank you for everything you do to support families in need and sharing our vision to fundamentally reverse the impact of poverty for children living in our region.
Warm regards,
The We Care Team
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