This Christmas we are giving thanks.  We have so much love and gratitude to everyone who has supported Karinya House over 2020.

A Christmas Gift in 2020 – Donate Here

The beginning of the year, with the impact of the Bushfires being so dominant across the Region and beyond, was tough.  Impact on women and the Karinya Team with the constant days of smoke and haze was felt across the Region also.  We witnessed amazing responses to appeals for help for the thousands of families impacted directly by the bushfires, as well as their livelihoods.  Impact on flora and fauna also generated heart warming support. The support for fire emergency services was also so amazing. And the response was from the global community as well as our own.

The rise of Covid-19 fast on the heels of overcoming the immediate threat (only) of the bushfires carried a much more comprehensive impact, still being felt across the global community.

Locally, we have witnessed the all-embracing strength and resilience of the Canberra Region Community.  The strong and resilient women we walk alongside, and the strength and resilience this editor witnesses across her Karinya colleagues, has also been embraced with love and support by our Canberra Region Community. Our Village has risen to our continuing (yet necessary) appeals.  Karinya services are people intense.  The greatest gifts of service we give are gifts of time, space, being present, standing alongside, sitting with, listening and hearing, supporting….

Our Karinya Team are the most valued asset our organisation has. Your donations, very single one, has supported and sustained this team in full throughout 2020.  The whole team has been retained.We did sadly bid our wonderful midwife, Anne Brown, a very fond farewell as she took up  her retirement after 18+ years of service with Karinya House.  The support of our whole community including our corporate and philanthropic community has allowed us to also provide additional support for our casework team during the Karinya House Covid-19 response, which involved split on-site weekday teams. In short, the support of our community has matched the donor and fundraising support received in prior years. This was totally unexpected given the financial call and impacts of the crises of 2020.

So this Christmas, we are giving thanks. To each and every one of you for your donation to Karinya House during 2020.  We realise the impacts of Covid-19 are far reaching and still continuing to impact you, our community, our village in many and varied ways.  Thank you for your continued and tangible respect and recognition for the women we walk alongside and your support of Karinya House throughout. You have continued to tangibly recognise that every woman who is pregnant or parenting a new baby should be surrounded with the support she needs. Thank you.

The beautiful image above is titled “Motherhood – Time doesn’t grow on Trees“. We asked our ‘resident’ artist, Stephanie Corkhill-Hyles – for a design as we do each year. The brief was something to describe what Karinya seeks to be – a (safe) place that provides time and space for women – to pause and determine their way forward. We felt this was so important given the year 2020 has been. Steph then gifted the artwork and it is now hanging in the main hub at Karinya House. It lifts up and in itself gives time and space. You can read more about the artwork here.
You are welcome to support our Christmas Appeal via the links below: