Auckland City Funds assist parents support others

Auckland City Council’s Community Group Assistance Fund has allocated $1400.00 towards training of volunteer support parents for our visitation service.

There are many demands on this fund and we are grateful for the opportunity to go ahead with this very important project.

The funding will go towards the next SUPPORT PARENT TRAINING COURSE.

The course is 18 hours and at the completion participants have the opportunity to become accredited as Support Parents. The course covers; communication skills, grief issues, and resources within the disability sector. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet like minded parents and to assess your personal ability to support others in similar situations. We have trained 4 parents so far, and they all received a lot of personal benefit out of the course.

If you have always wanted to help others through their cleft journey, to share your hard won knowledge, or to give something back to others. This is your chance. If you are interested in becoming a Support Parent, please contact Susan or Meegan on info@cleft.org.nz For those parents that have already shown an interest, we will keep you updated on the course dates and details.

The Visitation service is targeted at new cleft families who are still in the maternity ward, or who have just received a diagnosis of cleft from a radiographer. Crucial to the start of a cleft journey is emotional support and care. This often can best be delivered from other parents who have shared similar experiences. Initially this service is being set up in Auckland. We believe families who have access to emotional support through our trained parents, plus access to Megan Sanders the Cleft Team Co-ordinator who supplies answers to the medical questions, will feel prepared and supported to face the first critical year for their child.

We once again thank Auckland City for the financial support to embark on this project. We would like to extend an invitation to you all to volunteer to become a Support Parent for others. The rewards are many. If you would like to discuss the course further, and the commitment this service requires, please phone Meegan on 0800 425 338 or Susan on 021 1147 186.