Coolamon Community

Coolamon Community’s purpose is to make a real difference at the very start life for an Aboriginal child and for their mother, we do this through the gift of the “Coolamon Crib”, which is delivered to the mum preterm or just after birth, by those trusted Healthcare workers at Aboriginal Health Services; this gift celebrates the birth of her child, and connects her to the local caring supportive community around her. We will renovate our very old and rundown warehouse office and staff area to create a beautiful space where we can: 

• Welcome midwives and support workers from Aboriginal Health Services and AMIHS who visit us
• Create a space to train our volunteers
• Create an effective office working area (currently all office work has to be done from our volunteer and staff members homes)
• Welcome Donors, Philanthropic Organisation representatives and future retailers for a Social Enterprise we are starting in late 2024 as part of our journey to financial self-sustainability.

The NORTH Foundation

The Bereavement Bag initiative, launched in 2020 by the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD), represents a profound commitment to enhancing the support provided to families navigating the pain of loss. This project arose from a deep understanding of the need to treat the personal belongings of the deceased with the utmost respect and dignity, marking a significant departure from the previous, distressing practice of using impersonal and inappropriate plastic bags for their return to bereaved families. Moreover, each bag features a specially crafted pocket that contains vital bereavement information. This resource is designed to guide families through their grief, offering understanding, practical advice, and directions to further support services. The Bereavement Bag project is a testament to the power of community, compassion, and the human touch in the healing process. It stands as an encouragement of innovation in palliative care, profoundly impacting families in their most vulnerable moments by ensuring that the final act of care is delivered with dignity, respect, and a deep sense of humanity.

The Compassionate Friends Victoria

The Compassionate Friends Victoria recognizes the critical need to provide comprehensive support to new members who are navigating the challenging journey of grief after the loss of a child. To address this need, we are launching the "TCFV Cares" Grief Packs for New Members" project. These packs will contain essential resources and comforting items aimed at providing support, guidance, and solace during the early stages of grief. These individuals are navigating the profound and devastating journey of grief, often feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure of how to cope with their emotions. The grief packs aim to provide practical and emotional support to these individuals during the early stages of their grief journey, offering essential resources, guidance, and comforting items to help ease their burden and facilitate healing. By receiving these packs, new members will feel welcomed, understood, and supported in their grief, fostering a sense of belonging within the community of The Compassionate Friends Victoria.

National Centre For Childhood Grief

This project will significantly enhance the online counselling provided to children living in regional and remote areas, who cannot travel to our urban care centre. One in 20 Australian children are parentally bereaved. Many live in regional areas. We will develop an activity kit to post to online counselling clients, which our counsellors will use during the sessions - enhancing talk-based online counselling with art, games, cooking and gardening therapy. This project will fund the development of the activity kit and trial its use with 40 bereaved youth clients aged 13-17 years in regional areas for a year.

​Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service

EWF has supported with the purchase and instillation of a 'HikVision PoE' camera. This camera will provide the ability for our flight crews to be able to check remotely to see real time 360 degree vision of weather conditions (severe fog, hail, rain etc) that could be impacting our helipads. This information can be vital when they are planning missions and the retrieval of patients. As the provider of aeromedical rescue helicopter support to the community of Northern NSW, we perform over 1,500 missions each year. This project will greatly impact and improve the ability for our flight crews to be able to safely manage the transportation of patients and medical teams. Being able to know in advance the weather conditions back at our helipads while they are out on a mission can assist with flight planning to ensure that we can make the best decisions about where a patient can be taken during an emergency.