About Us
Legal Status
We are an Incorporated Society 222784 and registered with the Charities Commission CC21700. This means that any financial contribution over $5 is tax deductible.
We are an Incorporated Society 222784 which means we are here to represent and give voice to the experiences, views and opinions of our members, who are people who have been touched in some way by someone born with a cleft lip and/or palate.
By listening to what our members have to say we can then in turn shape the aims of the organisation to support and empower those members. This has led to valuable changes and insights over the years as we move forward, helping our members take personal responsibility for their challenges by giving them the knowledge to make effective decisions.
Today, as a result of that ongoing input and commitment, we can offer our members an even wider level of services and contacts. Because treatments and facilities are continuing to make advancements in the area of cleft lip and/or palate, having an organisation such as ours ensures everyone is kept up to date and never isolated.
If you would like a copy of the Cleft New Zealand Inc. Constitution, please email info@cleft.org.nz
Our Purpose & Vision
Every organisation needs a purpose and a vision to steer them in the right direction and keep everyone focused on achieving the true aims.
Our Purpose:
“To support and empower people on their cleft journeys.”
Our Vision:
“We seek to create a future where people understand difference and value the unique contribution individuals make.”
We are all members of this organisation because of a person who was born with a cleft lip and/or palate and we all want their future to be as bright as it can be. This person is the focus of our organisation at all times and in everything we do.
This includes immediate family and friends, medical and educational professionals, peers and society as a whole.
Our History
Back in the 1970’s and earlier, families were isolated and were in the hands of the medical professionals “who knew best”. However, some strong-minded families started questioning and finding their own solutions, such as importing their own specialised feeding bottles, and contacting other families. This resulted in the first committee meeting in 1979.
Not long after, the first BLUE BOOK was completed by Sharyn Nicholson and Sue Neal with the assistance of mothers at the time- a huge undertaking! Then in April 1983 an Incorporated Society was formed with an additional group of new parents and Naomi and David Lange at the helm.
It helped having a Prime Minister on board! Fundraising focused on getting the hospital facilities that families wanted, and in turn, families were able to become closely involved with the medical profession for the first time. Specialised equipment was installed in Middlemore and Hutt Hospitals, and ongoing programmes were implemented by the subsequent committees.