From the desk of the CEO….

Dear Friends of Karinya House *

As many of you know, May is an important month at Karinya House. Not only is it the time of year when Autumn’s beautiful colours grace Canberra and the season changes, but it is also the month of Mother’s Day.

At Karinya House we recognise that Mother’s Day can be a complex time – a day of both celebration and of challenges. Mother’s Day touches the experiences of women we walk alongside and who are in crisis, women who have lost children, women who yearn to be reunited with their children, women who have lost mothers or feel uncertainly or shame on their journey through parenthood.

On this Mother’s Day, we embrace all these experiences of mothering. The joy, the challenges and those whose journeys diverge from the conventional norm.

As a valued part of our Karinya House village, I wish to thank you for your support over this past year. Your donations, generosity and time shows women and their children that they are valued and supported – without judgement – and in whatever form their parenting journey looks.

As you may know, May is our major fundraising month – and this year we are hoping to raise $100,000.  A significant part of the, $40,000, is expected to be raised through the upcoming Home. Hope. Horizon. Charity Luncheon on 2 May 2024. This event is being supported by many of our corporate partners, as well as members of the Karinya Village.

The remaining funds are hoped to be raised across May through the Home. Hope. Horizon. Charity Appeal.  Donations received to the value of the first $30,000 will be being matched dollar for dollar by our wonderful, matched giving partners. **

The funding raised across May allows us to extend our service to all women in the community who need it, and to be flexible in meeting whatever needs they have – be it health and medical costs, baby goods and living expenses, transport or education expenses, through to legal fees and immigration support.

Please know that I share this with you primarily for the interest of our Friends and Partners who prefer to donate in May to our annual May appeal. For those friends who traditionally donate at other times or in other ways, we are simply thankful for the generous support you already freely give and wish to thank you for this without expectation of anything further. You are welcome of course to share news of this appeal with family and friends, if you so wish.

If I may leave you with this quote from one woman we have recently supported, to warm your thoughts and household on this cool Autum day.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done to help us get here, you’re all angels 💗. It was lovely being there, a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed until I had it. Getting to know all the staff and seeing beautiful little bubs everyday helped us tremendously. First time in over a year I felt safe and supported, everything that’s done to keep it that way is amazing and I’m forever grateful.”

Yours sincerely

Lavinia Tyrrel

Chief Executive Officer

24 April 2024

* This letter was sent to all who receive our print mail out, and will be sent to all eNews subscribers at the end of April.

We choose May for many reasons.  May is Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month. May also encompasses Mother’s Day, and also Bereaved Mother’s Day, which at Karinya we recognise can be both days of celebration and challenging days for many.  Other days occurring in May which have significance to Karinya are International Day for Midwives, International Day for Nurses, National Volunteers Week, National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week.

** The Home. Hope. Horizon. Charity Appeal 2024 Matched Giving Fund is supported by: 

Parker Coles Curtis (Principal Partner)

Parbery, Elect Printing, North Belconnen Community Association (Associate Partners)

Canberra Southern Cross Club, Successful Alliances, CK Architecture, Patient Experience Agency, Solace Creations Double Glazing, Margaret O’Donovan, Playgroup Australia, Bellchambers Barrett, Farrar Gesini Dunn, Blumers Lawyers ACT (Support Partners)