Ensuring distance is no longer a barrier to childhood wellbeing

Supporting First Nations new mothers – and ensuring they have access to essential childcare items such as cots, car seats, nappies, breast pumps and baby clothing – is part of the new regional program being undertaken by Treasure Boxes.

Originally servicing the suburbs of Adelaide, Treasure Boxes has established a Regional Program to provide aid to South Australia’s rural communities, sponsored by the Adelaide Football Club, BHP and the Adelaide Crows Foundation.

This NAIDOC week we will be traveling to communities in Nukunu and Barngarla country (Port Pirie, Port Augusta and Port Lincoln regions) to meet with community support organisations. After a successful listening tour in late-2019, we’ve spent the last year creating a program to provide regional communities with direct access to childhood essentials, ensuring distance is no longer a barrier to childhood wellbeing.

Treasure Boxes CEO Rikki Cooke said that supporting First Nations mothers – some of whom are forced to travel up to 600km for maternity services – is a priority for the organisation moving forward.

“Treasure Boxes is deeply invested in supporting First Nations communities, helping to close the gap on access to the basic essentials needed to safely care for babies, kids and teens, ensuring safe and healthy wellbeing outcomes for First Nations families,” Rikki says.

“We aim to ease the anxiety, stress and trauma placed on young children and their families affected by hardship and this extends to First Nations new mothers who are trying to cope with motherhood with so few supplies,” said Rikki.

With the first delivery booked in, Treasure Boxes hopes to provide childcare essentials to the families of 500 babies, kids and teens living in regional South Australia before the end of 2021.

Our very first delivery will be delivered in Port Augusta, to a First Nations mother with a newborn baby who was born prematurely and placed into care. She has been travelling from Port Augusta to Adelaide every week to spend time with her newborn in the ICU, while at the same time desperately trying to gather the essentials so she can care for her baby at home and break the foster-care cycle she was raised in. We’re providing her with a safe cot for sleeping, clothes, toys and toiletries for baby, along with some nappies, so she can focus on the joys of being a new mother.

You can support our Regional Program by donating items, or making a monetary donation online.

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