Impact Newsletter December 2022

As we near closer to a new year, I want to take a moment to reflect on 2022. We've seen natural disasters at levels we have rarely seen before, we have seen new wars escalate internationally and we are now seeing a cost-of-living crisis that is impacting many families. As always, these national and international issues have trickle-down effects on children and young people. More than ever, it is times like these that we need to focus on how we can protect children and young people and help them heal from their trauma.

The last three months have seen the Foundation, along with our partners and supporters do just this.

In October, a special group of people and our Patron, Rosie Batty, set out on a Trek for Childhood where they walked 65km in six days across the Overland Track. Rosie and the Trekkers raised over $35,000 which has gone directly to supporting children and young people heal. October and November saw us raise significant funds for our National Trauma Recovery Fund through our work as Victoria Racing Club's Pin & Win charity partner. And finally, towards the end of November, we also launched It's never too late - a site dedicated to supporting adults to take actionable steps to protect children and young people from online child sexual abuse and exploitation. Alongside the launch of the site, we also released Claire’s Story an animated case study, narrated by our ambassador Georgie Parker, that illustrates just how easily online child sexual abuse and exploitation can occur.

As we move into the final month of 2022, our focus has not shifted. We have recently launched our Christmas Appeal which shares the story of how Josh*, a young person who received the support he needed from our specialist therapists, was able to reunite with his foster family despite facing many challenges in his short life. You can read more about Josh here. Through this appeal, we are also inviting anyone who donates to share a message of hope - a simple gesture that can mean so much to so many.

December has also seen the launch of our second set of matching family PJs with our partners, Target Australia. $2 from the purchase of each set will go directly to supporting vulnerable children, young people and their families through our Bringing Up Great Kids program. This is the second year these PJs have been released with Target. They not only help raise funds for Bringing Up Great Kids, but they are also a beautiful way to bring families together.

If you haven't seen it yet, we have released our FY22 Annual Report. This last year has seen us continue to do incredible work that will all help in our vision to make our community a safer place for children and young people. You can read the report here.

Finally, I want to touch on our recent Supporter Survey. Thank you to all the supporters who took the time to share their thoughts with us. Your generosity and wisdom are very much appreciated. More information about the results will be shared in our next edition of the Impact Newsletter.

As you may know, our Supporter Survey also had a competition attached to it. We are excited to announce the winners of the five Yiayia Next Door cookbooks. Congratulations to Barb Miles, Emily Andrew, Lisa Ferguson along with two other winners who wanted to remain anonymous.

2022 has seen the world face new and devastating challenges, but our hope is that 2023 will bring some relief to children, young people and their families.

Thank you for your support and commitment to helping children and young people who have experienced trauma.

Kindest regards

Dr Joe Tucci 

CEO, Australian Childhood Foundation 

If would like to contact Australian Childhood Foundation directly you can email or call us today.