Benalla’s independent community foundation, Tomorrow Today, joins 17 other organisations in sharing $8.6 million of funding from the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
The Paul Ramsay Foundation (PRF) and the Australian Communities Foundation (ACF) yesterday announced the first recipients of grants in PRF’s Strengthening Early Years, a program that aims to support families and children to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive upon school entry.
Strengthening Early Years focuses on the critical importance of the developmental period between conception and age two. Equally, it aims to ensure that parents are well supported to flourish during the early years of their child’s life.
Drawn from across the country, 18 promising projects targeting young children and families will share in the generous funding. The recipients include culturally appropriate antenatal programs, support for mothers and children escaping domestic and family violence, First Nations focused playgroups, as well as programs focused on building resources, workforce knowledge and capability.
Tomorrow Today’s successful application was for the implementation of ConnectParent, a new program that builds on Tomorrow Today’s successful PEEP program, which supports over 80% of Benalla parents with children aged 0-5 years.
“ConnectParent is an exciting and important addition to Tomorrow Today’s suite of Early Years programs.” Rosie Koop, Tomorrow Today’s Executive Officer explains; “The concept grew out of community conversations at the Benalla Early Years Forum, hosted by Tomorrow Today, the Department of Education and Training and Benalla Rural City Council. At the Forum, the Benalla community identified a strong need to improve support for parents before a baby is born.”
The new program is set to launch in 2023 and aims to increase the capability and confidence of parents and caregivers of children during the critical first 1000 days of life (from conception to age two). The program will match parents with a volunteer Community Connector, who assists them to connect with the resources and support they need in the Benalla community such as antenatal care and Maternal & Child Health.
Ms Koop added, “We are thrilled to receive support from the Paul Ramsay Foundation for our new ConnectParent program. ConnectParent recognises that everyone needs someone in their corner, watching out for them, offering a helping hand. Our volunteer Connectors will help new parents give their child the best start to life. We are currently seeking applicants for the new role of ConnectParent Coordinator and encourage interested community members to apply”
PRF’s Head of Early Childhood and program lead Hannah Barber said the successful organisations were all dedicated to supporting parents, caregivers and children experiencing disadvantage in the first one-thousand days of a child’s life.
“Ensuring that parents and caregivers have what they need to feel supported in the challenging early days of a child’s life is critical to establishing future pathways for the child’s health and development,” she said.
“We were impressed by the range of innovative approaches within these programs designed to strengthen relationships between parents or caregivers and children, which we know is extremely important.
“We look forward to partnering with these organisations to help grow their impact. As PRF works to help break cycles of disadvantage in Australia, we hope to establish a community of learning and sharing within the Strengthening Early Years program, but also with the broader early childhood sector.”
ACF’s Grants Manager, Gabby Lam said that the calibre of the organisations applying for funding was incredibly high, and thanked applicants for taking the time to compile such quality applications.
“We’re happy to once again partner with PRF to distribute funds where they’re most needed. We were struck by the potential and innovation that exists in this sector. We look forward to working with the partners as they undertake the work we’ve supported.”