Category: News

The Central Coast Carer Recruitment and Intake Team took part in the annual ‘Central Coast Kids Day Out’ last Sunday for a great community day and opportunity to spruik Barnardos and the great work we do with children and families, as well as talking to community about the need for foster carers.

The theme ‘Shining Brightly’ ‘Healthy Minds + Strong Bodies + Resilient Kids = Happy Families’ reached many families, in a fun-filled, family focused day. Our Airbrush Temporary Tattoos and coloured hairspray were a great hit with the children as well as some of the adults. 😊 We received lots of comments about our Barnardos Green stall and how well we stood out in the crowd.

We would like to thank everyone who participated and contributed in making it such a great day of sharing and raising awareness of Barnardos in our local community.

We’ll be back at this event again next year.

Make your End of Financial Year donation count and help us drive children to their brightest future!

Donate to the Yurungai bus appeal here.

A huge thanks to Australian Mutuals Foundation for supporting the launch of our Yurungai bus appeal, with a generous $50,000 donation!

The Yurungai Learning Centre supports children with a nutritious after-school meal, literacy, numeracy and homework support, as well as cultural activities. Without supervised transport, many children would not have the means to attend the Learning Centre, or take part in associated educational visits, cultural excursions, and sporting events.

Earlier this week, the NSW Government delivered the budget for the forthcoming financial year with housing as the centrepiece. You can read our organisational statement below or on LinkedIn here and watch CEO Deirdre Cheers’s statement video.

The 2024 Barnardos Supporter Survey results are in.

Sent in January to more than 4,000 supporters and with an above-average response rate validating our sample’s representation, the data collected provided pertinent insights about our supporters, their motivations and their preferences. Receiving honest feedback about us as an organisation is crucial and we are pleased to share that, overall, feedback was very positive with many respondents taking this opportunity to congratulate the work that we do on a daily basis.

We thank each and every one of them for having taken the time to fill in this survey, as a Champion for Children, their voice matters!

Highlights from what our supporters told us include:

• Over 98% of respondents feel their donations are making an impact on improving the lives of vulnerable children, young people and families. This was also the motivation given for supporting Barnardos, more than for any other reasons.
• The areas of our work which are of most interest are: supporting abused and neglected children, including those exposed to domestic violence and/or experiencing homelessness, to heal from their trauma.
• 89% of respondents are satisfied with the overall quality of our communications with them.
• For those who follow us on social media, Facebook is the most popular platform.
• More than 90% of respondents are aware they can leave a gift to Barnardos in their Will.
• The single most common comment made was “Keep up the good work”.
• Many comments received were about a personal connection to Barnardos or why they first started supporting our charity, such as “I support Barnardos as I was introduced to them in Infants and Primary School.”

A week of Reconciliation events

Last week, our staff at Penrith’s Children Family Centre came together to celebrate Reconciliation Week. We created different artworks together as a team while sharing stories on how we could strengthen relationship with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities. These new artworks are looking fabulous on our reception wall.

Mt Druitt Reconciliation Walk

2024 marks the 27th anniversary of the Reconciliation Walk and Gathering at Dawson Mall in Mount Druitt.

Some of our Penrith Children’s Family Centre staff represented Barnardos on the gathering. Even though the weather on Saturday wasn’t perfect for a walk, we still showed up and joined many other organisations and community members in celebrating this important event and the true meaning of Reconciliation – the building of mutual and respectful relationships between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians.

On Tuesday, Barnardos Australia Sydney Metro Children’s Family Centre hosted a BBQ to celebrate Reconciliation week.

The event was attended by team members from across our centre and included a BBQ run by our Sydney Youth Services (and attended by over 100 local young people), bag decorating and a photo booth. The afternoon ended with a beautiful yarning circle facilitated by the Yurungai Learning Centre where children and staff discussed what Reconciliation means to them.

We also welcomed Lynette from Reconciliation Australia who was keen to engage with the team and hear more about our work.