2018 Barnardos

Christmas in Pyrmont were delighted to be able to donate $30,000 from the 2018 event to Barnardos.

Below is a short report that details how the funds raised help to support the vital programs that Barnardos run.

Barnardos believes in strengthening the family to avoid the need to remove children. The money raised by Christmas in Pyrmont funds support programs to ensure these children access our support, when, where and how they need it.

In 2017-2018 we helped 14,049 children, young people and families through 178 programs: referrals, family and youth support, parenting and accommodation programs.

Ella (not her real name) is 11. She has four sisters and two older brothers. It was difficult living with her mum, dad and two sisters. Mum used drugs, mum and dad argued, leaving Ella and 13-year-old Jackie to fend for themselves for long periods. Ella became withdrawn. She did not listen in class or do her homework. She fell behind and had no motivation.  Jackie started running away. Both went into the care of their Aunty. Ella started a new school and enrolled in Yurungai Learning Centre to help her with homework. At Yurungai Ella recovered her flare, she is excited to spend her afternoons there with real friends and get help with her homework; she doesn’t feel hopeless.

Yurunagai has worked with Ella and her Aunty to enrol her in the Indigenous choir. She also sings in the school choir and runs to the centre every afternoon with a massive smile across her face. Her self-esteem has risen dramatically and she becomes part of anything she put her mind to.

Yurungai is not just a homework centre, it is a safe place for families to talk about issues at home, and the staff do their very best to help, or guide them to appropriate services. Yurungai helped Ella get into boarding school and Jackie to obtain a scholarship for a boarding school.

Yurungai treats every child as family: that’s what Ella and her Aunty felt when they received the support they needed.