Angela Savage Speech Occasional Childcare rally

I’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this and on which we are gathered and to pay my respects to elders past and present.

The Association of Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres is proud to support this rally to save occasional child care. In addition to being the largest providers of occasional child care in Victoria, Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres believe strongly in supporting communities to exercise their democratic rights and make their political voices heard.

The grassroots response to the cessation of government funding for occasional child care has been remarkable. Parents, carers and providers throughout Victoria have mobilised to make their voices heard through letter writing, social media, petitioning, demonstrations and rallies around the state. The kids have done their bit through Operation Big Fridge.

I want to make special mention of those in the Goulburn Valley – four women in particular referred top as the ‘awesome foursome’ in our office – and also Vicky Weatherlake, who has led the social media charge on this issue.

I also want to thank the organisations who have gone on the record as supporting the reinstatement of funding for occasional child care, including the Victorian Farmers Federation, United Dairy Farmers of Victoria, Country Women’s Association of Victoria, the Australian Nurses Federation, Save the Children, Brimbank Council, Moonee Valley Council, Community Child Care Victoria.

Early on in this campaign, one mother said to me, “You know, I’ve voted all my life, but this is the first time I’ve ever asked for anything.”

I want to say to you and all the mothers, fathers, carers, children and supporters here today that you have the right to ask this of your leaders – it is not too much to ask.

But to be honest, I am flabbergasted that we are still in this situation, rallying on the steps of Parliament for the second time in two months and calling for the responsible ministers—Wendy Lovell at the state level and Kate Ellis at the Federal level—to work together to sustain these vital services.  Families throughout Victoria are being held to ransom in what appears to be a case of political brinkpersonship between these two ministers. Enough already with the finger-pointing: we want to see the two ministers work constructively on a solution. This isn’t about you. It’s about us. It’s about strong, healthy, safe communities.

Minister Wendy Lovell has said the state government will put its share of the funding back on the table if the Federal government reinstates its share. That money is needed now, before services start closing. We call on Minister Lovell to restore the state’s contribution immediately. And we call on Minister Ellis to reinstate the support  of the Federal government for neighbourhood model occasional care.

Angela Savage

Executive Officer

Association of Neighbourhood Houses & Learning Centres

The Nationals - Federal Council Program 2011 - Action Needed ASAP

The Nationals meet on the 26th, their official program includes childcare and Take A break funding will be addressed.  See page 16

http://nationals.org.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=JClKLbVGStI%3D&tabid=126

That this Federal Council of The Nationals notes with concern the lack of childcare services in many regional areas and:

a. Condemns the Rudd-Gillard Government’s decision to withdraw funding for the ‘Take a Break’ occasional care program; and

b. Supports a review of childcare funding to provide more flexibility in the provision of service to smaller towns which are discriminated against under the current model.
  
We are asking you to please get in touch with MP's via email ASAP.  One email can be sent to them all.

Please make them as personal as possible.  You could state your support in the motion being carried but your dismay that the Victorian Nationals are allowing the State Liberals to close childcare centres in country Vic, even though the state has 45% of the funding available - enough to save the majority of centres.

Federal MP's to email
w.truss.mp@aph.gov.au
john.cobb.mp@aph.gov.au
luke.hartsuyker.mp@aph.gov.au
darren.chester.mp@aph.gov.au
mark.coulton.mp@aph.gov.au
p.neville.mp@aph.gov.au
george.christensen.mp@aph.gov.au
j.forrest.MP@aph.gov.au
michael.mccormack.mp@aph.gov.au
ken.o’dowd@aph.gov.au
Bruce.Scott.MP@aph.gov.au
senator.joyce@aph.gov.au
senator.nash@aph.gov.au
senator.scullion@aph.gov.au
senator.williams@aph.gov.au
senator.boswell@aph.gov.au
senator.mckenzie@aph.gov.au

Federal Executive
federal.nationals@nationals.org.au
brad.henderson@nationals.org.au
peter.langhorne@nationals.org.au
robert.mitchell@nationals.org.au
president@countryliberals.org.au
ruth.strang@nationals.org.au
john.sharp@nationals.org.au
larry.anthony@nationals.org.au
colin.holt@nationals.org.au
christine.ferguson@nationals.org.au
sarah.johnston@nationals.org.au

State Executive
vic@nationals.org.au
peter.schwarz@nationals.org.au
jenny.hammett@nationals.org.au
stuart.copeland@nationals.org.au
jill.mcgillivray@nationals.org.au
ruby.cameron@nationals.org.au

This is really important and timing is everything.  Centres will close soon and the more people that show their concern the better.

Please forward this to anyone you think may be interested.

Please let me know if you have any questions, thanks
Vicky savetakeabreak@gmail.com

It takes a village to raise a family

Great speech from Ian Andrews made at the No Love from Lovell Rally in Melbourne on Thursday 18th August

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Ian Andrews and I am a father of five from the Goulburn Valley. My wife and I are currently raising two young children and our youngest son has special needs. The support we have received from our local Occasional Care Centre has been an absolute lifeline for my family.

We do not have extended family living near us and it has been so important to have the support of our Occasional Care Centre to help us cope with the daily stresses of parenthood. The help we receive allows my wife and family to function so much better than when struggling on our own, it benefits us in so many ways.

We were desperate to find somewhere that my son could be cared for, but we didn’t require “full” day care, there is a difference. It was such a relief to find “Occasional Care”, to find carers who had the expertise and love to care for our son and understand his special needs. It also allowed my wife time to help me in our family business or to attend appointments, as well as give her the break that every mother needs for her own mental health.

I have the privilege of looking after our children for one day a week while my wife works, but I have to say, I look forward to getting back to my business! It is hard work caring for young children. Our government should be supporting families in any way possible. The Take a Break program is a proven, well established program that has had strong foundations in our communities for over 15 years. It is a success story which supports both parents and children. It is a small investment with an enormous return.

We’re not just here today to complain about these funding cuts. We’re here today trying to build our children’s future and to secure the wellbeing of our families!

We are so disappointed that the politicians that we elected into office are making no effort to represent us, they are making no effort to empathise with the families affected by these funding cuts and they are not listening to our concerns or consulting with grass roots families to try and find any solutions.

The date on my calendar says 2011, but our politicians want to take us back to the 1950’s. Times have changed and the days when families lived close by and gave each other day by day support in raising their families has nearly disappeared.

It has been said that “It takes a village to raise a family”. Occasional Care is an essential part of our village and we must not lose it from our communities.

Mr Baillieu, as one father to another, I implore you to reconsider the decision to terminate this vital service and to support struggling families across our state.

Thankyou for your time.

Down With Super Mum

This has been taken from Down With Super Mum who got in touch with me via our PlanBig campaign.  Thanks so much for taking the time to show what occasional childcare meant to your family when it was needed the most!

"If you’ve been reading for a while, you will know that I had post-natal depression (PND) following the birth of both my kids. I wasn’t coping. Little things like insisting my 5 day old baby had to have a photo with Santa for his first Christmas (he was born on 18th December), were clear signs that I wasn’t coping.
I was very lucky with my family support in many ways, however there were times when I needed a break and my family weren’t available. So, I turned to child care.

When the boys were over 1 year old, they were in Family Day Care FDC) 2 days a week, but before that, and even after that if I needed it on the days when they weren’t in FDC, I used Occasional Care in different forms.

I used the occasional care at the gym so I could go to a class, and also my church would put trips on, such as going Christmas shopping, and would look after the kids. There was also an awesome Occasional Care facility that I could use.

This was especially important following the birth of my second son when I ended up in hospital for PND. The boys Dad made use of this.

I was saddend to discover that Occasional Care funding was being cut. There are a huge number of Mums who have PND, and much of this is to do with the lack of support. Occasional Care is an invaluable resource for Mums with PND. It is a cheap way for the government to support these Mums.

The other advantage of occasional care is just that – it IS occasional. With other forms of child care you have to book in to set days and commit to that time frame. With occasional care, I was able to ring up and book the boys in when I had a doctors appointment or some other activity where I really couldn’t take the boys with me.

Occasional care is something that is definitely worth saving."

For more details, click here.
To sign the petition, click here.

Staff’s Help Invaluable To Me - A Story from Mooroopna

This has been taken from SN Weekly, thanks to Kate Andrews for allowing us to share it.

"The first year after my son was born was an extremely stressful time for my family. He was unsettled and cried a lot, both day and night. He didn’t fit in with other children without constant supervision, so taking him to playgroup or mother’s group was worse than staying home with him. We don’t have extended family in the area, so it was almost impossible to have time without my son – not just to relax, but to do things like go to an appointment, access early intervention for my son, volunteer in the community or contribute to the family business.

Our Maternal Health sister recognised how difficult things were for us. When my son turned one, she suggested that I go and see the staff at Morrell Street Occasional Care. “You need a break for your own mental health,” she said, “and there are things you just can’t get done if you don’t have someone to look after him. They are just wonderful there.”

We have never looked back. With their expert and loving care, my son has developed and thrived. They have identified his special needs and helped him learn how to socialise appropriately. They have given him the confidence needed to transition into the more structured kinder environment. I have been granted a time each week when I know I can make that important phone call, make a doctors appointment, or work on the accounts for our family business. I know that if something comes up, such as a funeral, I am able to book my children into care and participate in important family and community events.

The importance of the Take-A-Break Occasional Childcare program must not be underestimated. It is a program that empowers women to further their own prospects as well as those of their family and their community. For my own family and the thousands of others who have their own story to tell, it must be saved. "

Some of the ways you can help

There a many ways you can help but these are a few

Write to you MP's

This is the most important one, get in touch with your MP's.  Write a letter rather than email, then keep writing, then keep writing!  A letter is good, a letter a week is better.  If you're not sure who to write to check out these websites - Find My Electorate or Parliament of Victoria

We can also be voted for on Get Up This is taken from their website 

GetUp is an independent, grass-roots community advocacy organisation giving everyday Australians opportunities to get involved and hold politicians accountable on important issues.

Whether it is sending an email to a member of parliament, engaging with the media, attending an event or helping to get a television ad on the air, GetUp members take targeted, coordinated and strategic action.

GetUp does not back any particular party, but aims to build an accountable and progressive Australia - an Australia with economic fairness, social justice and environmental sustainability at its core.

GetUp is a not-for-profit organisation and receives no money from any political party or the government. We rely solely on funds and in-kind donations from the Australian public.

We are also on PlanBig This is taken from their website

PlanBig is itself the culmination of a big idea.

We believed that there was some real value in giving people the chance to come together in one place to talk about ideas, share inspiration, offer advice or help make things happen for themselves or someone else.

PlanBig brings together the experiences, knowledge and expertise of people with different skills from all walks of life and all ages to help each other get ideas kick started.

So who are these amazing people and where do they live? They’re you and thousands of others just like you in communities right across Australia (and even across the planet).

Get involved, get connected, get active. It doesn’t matter where you live because with PlanBig you can draw on the resources of a vast online community. A community who is passionate, engaged and eager to lend a hand or an ear.

Create petitions and sign existing petitions
Our online petition is here on Go Petitions website
Sussan Ley has launched a national petition - info can be found here

Keep up to date with news and events on Facebook

Get in touch with your local media on the issues

We are also on Twitter 

“Bev and Karen’s” was closing down - Morrell Street Occasional Care Centre

Hi

This is taken from a story written about Morrell Street Occasional Care Centre, also known to those that have been there as “Bev and Karen’s”

I think there are "Bev and Karen" stories all over the Victoria and I am so glad I got to read theirs.

"I heard from a patient that "Bev and Karen’s" was closing down. You might ask: Whose place? Bev and Karen are the child care workers at Morrell Street Occasional Care Centre. They are also assisted by two beautiful volunteers, Melissa and Linda. This centre operates on Monday to Friday mornings from nine until twelve throughout school terms. Bev, Karen, Melissa, and Linda who deliver the care are exceptional. They have entered the lives of many of us in Mooroopna. They have not only extended love and care to our children but they have also nurtured mothers in the care and support they have given them over many, many years. 

 I would never have survived, if it wasn’t for Bev and Karen" stories. These stories are not the great ones in history but genuine stories of everyday life; and these are our local stories. These stories are told by women who mother in rural communities, and they are not the glitzy, glamourised versions of motherhood that make us all feel incompetent and ugly. These stories, sometimes punctuated by a gulp, or a tear show the messy side of mothering, the lack of sleep, money, and rain, and yet they reveal our beauty, and our honesty, and our struggle: mothering is hard and exacting work and sometimes we just need support to be the best mothers we can be. Bev and Karen have given this support, and many more of us have more stories to tell. The telling is important because these stories unite women, they make us stronger, and these stories build our community.

I remember moving from inner city Melbourne just after the birth of our first child, knowing no-one except for Bill’s family. This was a struggle for me and quite isolating. I was basically lonely and needed some other involvement in the world. It was then that I started volunteering for the Mooroopna Community Centre rather than staying at home twenty-four hours a day with a baby. Cara was in a capsule at the time and I would put her beside me as I answered phones and helped out in the office. It was here that I heard about Occasional Care. After a year of this, I returned to casual employment and commenced work as a nurse at Goulburn Valley Health. Even-though it was only once or twice a week, the social and intellectual stimulation was what I needed. It also kept me sane and the salary contributed to our farm income in this drought stricken period. At the time there was much mirth in the family because I was ready for my shift two hours before I was meant to start; I was so excited by the prospect of nursing again and meeting people. We were on a farm, so Bill would drop Cara at nine at Bev and Karen’s and then his mother (and I was fortunate to have her loving input) would pick Cara up at twelve. In those days I would often work a short shift and finish at 1.30. I felt that the care of our young daughter was shared and I was comforted by the knowledge that she was being lovingly attended to. Then there was the period after my father was diagnosed with cancer, I now had two beautiful babes but a sick, father undergoing treatment in Geelong. I would not have been able to do the seven hour return trip to attend his appointments and chemotherapy if it was not for Bev and Karen. Then, three years ago life repeated, and I revisited those appointments but this time with my mother as she was treated for breast cancer. Once again Bev and Karen were there to help with the care of my youngest. All of my four children attended Morrell Street Occasional Care.

I was nurtured in my mothering because of the support of these wonderful women. Sometimes, you just need the time out, you need to be able to pause, think thoughts through: reflect. I especially remember the time after Dad died, I left the girls with Bev and Karen and took myself off down to the river, just to sit in the quiet and be still. It was soul time, time afforded to me; to help me heal and to be able to meet the demands of a young family when my own heart was heavy with grief. At other times over the years, Bev and Karen time was taken up with house chores, studying, helping with the cattle, shopping and of course nursing and lately; teaching.

As more people in our community are becoming aware that Bev and Karen’s is closing down because of a cut in funding by this State government, more stories are emerging. "

To all the "Bev's and Karen's" out there a heartfelt thanks and to all the people who have the power to do something about this do the right thing. 

Let's all rally together and Save the Take A Break

Save the Take A Break Occasional Care Centres

Let's all rally together and Save the Take A Break Occasional Care Centres!

Written by Christina Hall

This post is shared with coffeeaddictedmummy.blogspot.c​om and Christina also has a Facbook page http://www.facebook.com/MumsHelpingMumsPND which as the name suggests is about mum's helping mum's with post natal depression.

Vicky and her team are fighting to reinstate funding to keep these centres running. In Vicky's words, taken from their Facebook  page;

"I feel passionately about saving the centres. I think not only do they provide excellent childcare they also provide a great place to nurture and grow community spirit. I am sure others out there feel the same way about their centre and in the words of the Three Musketeers - "All ...for one and one for all!"

I appeal to everyone who reads this to rally behind Vicky and her team and show your support for Save the Take A Break Occasional Care Centres! We need this service to continue.

To show your support please find below two links that will take you to external petition sites.
getup.org.au
gopetition.com/petitions

Or join them on the steps of Parliament house (Intersection of Burke and Spring Street Melbourne) Thursday the 18th August at 1pm.
For further details about the Rally please click here to be taken to their Blog page.

To contact Vicky please send her an email to savetakeabreak@gmail.com or click here to be taken to their Facebook page.

Thank you for reading and joining in the fight!
Christina xox

The opening of the Wendy Lovell Occasional Childcare Centre

Families from across the Goulburn Valley protested at Wendy Lovell’s office in Shepparton following the Victorian Government’s decision to axe funding for occasional care.

Occasional Care is a highly successful program and has been operating in parts of the state for 15 years. It provides flexible childcare for those aged 0-6 years.

Farming families cannot complete farm work with young children around and occasional care has provided an opportunity for kids to not only gain social skills, but remain safe.

The Victorian government continues to argue that it will only provide funding if the Commonwealth also does so. However, it has been over 12 months since the Commonwealth withdrew its support for the program and in the meantime the State Governments of Queensland, South Australian and Western Australian have agreed to fund the Commonwealth shortfall.

The Victorian Government has therefore indicated it has the money for the program, its time they stopped bickering with the Commonwealth and ensure rural families are not disadvantaged.
Those at the rally tomorrow will highlight that we are fed up with excuses and it’s high time we saw some solutions.

The above is based on a media alert issued for the rally held on the 22nd July, the speech below by Catherine Dooley is fantastic!

"Good Morning and welcome to this very auspicious occasion in the history of the Goulburn Valley: The grand Opening of the Wendy Lovell Occasional Care Centre.

Firstly I would like to acknowledge the traditional Owners of this Land, and it is with respect we gather.

On behalf of the board of directors I would like to welcome our distinguished guests, which of course are the children, our dear children who will be attending this state of the art facility. I would also like to put forward an apology on behalf of Minister Wendy ON LEAVE LOVELL, because I am sure she would have extended an apology if she was able to be contacted. It is believed that she is taking a break. Finally I would like to thank Big Ted for filling in at the last minute for Premier Ted; we appreciate your attendance and steadfast commitment to our children and their on-going education and development. It is this type of support that our children need - thankyou.

The Wendy Lovell Occasional Care Centre here in Shepparton is the only one of its kind. This centre which stands before you will service the needs of over 9,000 Victorian children. Unfortunately though there will be a slight adjustment to the fee structure due to lack of funding but the Wendy Lovell Centre hopes to keep these fees affordable. We can also assure you of expert care as those Victorians who have lost their jobs at the former occasional care centres (may, depending of course upon the fine print in their redundancy packages, be the very ones nurturing your young). We all know the calibre of these qualified and dedicated individuals, some of whom have devoted almost two decades of loving care to our children. Many of us here today know these people personally, they are our neighbours, our friends.

The Wendy Lovell Occasional Care Centre has spared nothing in bringing you the best and we did not even need to approach Premier Baillieu for further money. We did not have to plead our case against the tourist Pat a Horse program which takes a million from the budget, or the Zoo initiative and that 10 million, we also saw that to house ageing greyhounds was well worth another million, and finally how could we not let Melbourne twinkle with those expensive Christmas lights. If we are lucky, we may even see them from here, yes, we in the Goulburn Valley may see the effects of another couple of million dollars burning brightly at Christmas. Yet let me assure you, our Wendy did not have to beg, she did not plead and Premier Baillieu is very happy with her.

I have heard that the Mooroopna Occasional Care Centre needed just $9,000 per annum to stay viable, pity really, but that is not the Wendy Lovell Occasional Care Centre. 

At the Wendy Lovell Occasional Care Centre, we know that you need to take a break. We realise that the biggest health risk to living in the Goulburn Valley is Mental Health, we know that it is vitally important to nurture our mothers so that our mothers can nurture our children and our community. At the Wendy Lovell centre we know the importance of family and how hard it is without family, without the extra support of an extended family to help you bring up the Australians of the future. We know that children are important, that is why we are gathered here today, to celebrate the care we lavish on our young. We know about the added stressors of this region, the ten year drought, the floods, but let us wash away your concerns because we know the need. We know that the mothers of this region, isolated by distance and circumstance, do not have access to other facilities like this. We know too, that nurses and teaches depend on Occasional care so that they can work in these areas of great need in our community. We know that women farmers use occasional care so that their children are not put at risk in dangerous farming situations.

At Wendy’s we know... we know your needs. The Wendy Lovell Occasional Care Centre is the answer to it all. There is no need to despair, you are in Wendy’s care. Just remember, Wendy Lovell loves you!

May I now call upon......to cut the ribbon and officially declare the Wendy Lovell Occasional Care Centre open, thankyou."

Melbourne Rally 18th August - BYO - Bring your own Bear!

State launch “Wendy Lovell Mobile Occasional Care Centre”

220 Occasional Care Centres across Victoria are losing Take A Break Occasional Care government funding. We are holding a demonstration on the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne to show our disappointment in the loss of this funding.

The Take a Break Occasional Care initiative was created to fulfil the need for accessible, affordable, quality, sessional child care. It has existed for over 15 years in Victoria, and was jointly funded by the Commonwealth and State Governments.

In June 2010, the Commonwealth Government withdrew its funding for the program. The former Victorian Labor Government agreed to fully fund the program for 12 months. The current Coalition State Government has decided not to continue funding the program beyond 31 Dec 2011. The cost of Take A Break Occasional Care is $1.9 million per year.

Our plan is to have hundreds of dolls, teddies and soft toys representing the children attending Occasional Care sitting on the steps of Parliament House.

We ask anyone who has used Occasional Care in the past or who plan to use Occasional Care in the future to join in the campaign.

If you can’t attend the rally yourself then please donate a doll, teddy or soft toy to the cause. Contact your local Occasional Care centre to donate. We understand it can be difficult to attend a rally in Melbourne that’s why the dolls, teddies and soft toys are going!

At the end of the rally all dolls, teddies and soft toys will be donated to charity.

Rally Details:
When - Thursday August 18th
Time - Noon to set up dolls etc, 1pm rally
Where - Parliament House (intersection of Spring and Bourke Streets)
Contact Details: ANHLC - Ph 9654 1104; email anhlc@anhlc.asn.au
                            Mooroopna Education and Activity Centre - Ph 5825 1774

Operation Big Fridge - In action around the State

Operation Big Fridge was launched from Southport Playhouse but the idea is being taken up by centres from around the State.

We have written and we have rallied, we have asked Wendy Lovell, we have asked Kate Ellis, we have been on the news, we have been in the papers we are still trying to get funding back.

Some from Southport Playhouse

Pictures from Chelsea Heights Community Centre

Pictures from Chelsea Occasional Childcare Centre

Pictures from Merrigum

Operation Big Fridge - Speech By Kasey Edwards

I’m an author.  My most recent book Thirty-Something and the Clock is Ticking is about motherhood and my books have been published in 11 countries, including Australia.

 

One of the things that interests me about motherhood is how on one hand we say it’s the best job in the world, but yet, on the other hand there is a mountain of evidence that shows how damaging motherhood can be to mental health. Eight out of 10 women with young children report that they suffer severe emotional distress on a regular basis. Women with young children are more likely to be depressed or suffer from a mental illness than at any other time in their lives. 

 

One of the reasons for these horrifying statistics is because the job of mothering doesn’t end. Women of our generation have transitioned from a world where we were able to clock off at the end of the day and have the freedom to do something else, to a world where we are on duty every minute of every hour of every day of every month. There are no lunch breaks or home times; no weekends, no holidays and no sick days. And it’s interesting that as a society we still believe that daddy needs his sleep more than mummy because he has to get up the next day and do something hard; something important.

 

If you haven’t experienced the sheer relentlessness of mothering it might be hard to imagine why we are making so much fuss about saving Occasional Care. It’s just a few of hours a week, right? Wrong. It’s our oxygen. It’s the only time all week where we can sit down in peace, have an uninterrupted adult conversation, go to the doctor, have a haircut, work, spend time caring for our other children or sick relatives, or reclaim a piece of ourselves. This doesn’t mean that we don’t love our children. It just means that most of the time we are running on empty and we do indeed need to Take-A-Break. For many of us Occasional Care is the difference between getting through the week or falling apart.  Governments claim that they care about mental health; well Occasional Care is a very cost effective way of doing just that. It’s bang for buck. 

 

Operation Big Fridge is about our children doing their very best art work and giving their best work to our politicians in the hope that our politicians will do their very best work in return. In the hope that the finger-pointing and the blame game will stop. In the hope that our politicians will act like grownups.

 

This is an opportunity for one level of government, or all levels of government, to sparkle with leadership. It’s an opportunity to do the right thing for our children, our mothers and our community. And as we launch Operation Big Fridge and offer our artwork for the big fridges of our elected representatives we appeal to all our politicians –Federal, State and Local—to please work together and do whatever needs to be done to save Occasional Care.

Kasey Edwards has her own website here

A big thanks Kasey for such a thoughtful speech on why occasional childcare centres need to be funded!

 

Southport Playhouse Launch of Operation Big Fridge

Tuesday 26 July at 12.30pm Southport Playhouse is launching operation big fridge - an art project by children and parents celebrating 25 years of provision occasional care the community.

The projected will be launched by Kasey Edwards and Playhouse committee members. A light lunch, a big fridge art workshop, children’s activities, and a tour of the playhouse is included. Southport playhouse is located at the family and children’s hub on Clark st immediately to the left of the Port Melbourne primary school.

Southport Playhouse is a non-profit community-based organisation which has offered childcare to hundreds of local families over the past 25 years.

Playhouse was established in 1985 by a group of mothers who needed low-cost, short-term childcare. Currently Playhouse has 50 members and another 40 families on the waiting list. Over the years it has become a much needed community service in an area with high childcare demand, providing a wonderful environment for children to interact and for parents to take a break and reduce social isolation and build social connections with other parents.

Playhouse has recently been notified by the state and federal governments that our sole source of funding will end December this year. Unless both state and federal government start working together to reinstate funding Playhouse will have to close their doors before Christmas. Operation big fridge encourages the community to support & celebrate the value and ensure the future of Southport Playhouse.

Save Our Centres!

A victim of the government budget cuts, Take a Break Occasional Childcare centres may now face closure once funding stops at the end of the year. We feel passionately about saving these centres. Not only do they provide excellent childcare they also provide a great place to nurture and grow community spirit. We are fighting to reinstate funding to keep these centres running.

Save Take A Break - Occasional Childcare's blog is here to document reasons why communities across Victoria need this vital service. We hope to share stories and words of wisdom from parents, workers and supporters of Take A Break centres.

Please suggest to your friends, family, and groups. We cannot stress how important the numbers showing support and taking action will count.

Please stop by our facebook page for useful links, discussions and active conversations relating to our campaign.