Communities
for Children
Who are we?
Communities for Children facilitates a whole of community approach to provide early childhood development initiatives, supporting and enhancing development needs of children aged 0 to 12 years.
We use a place based approach and work with children, families and other organisations to shape program and service delivery.
As a CfC Facilitating Partner, we aim to provide support to the local community by partnering with community services to deliver programs and supports as well as capacity build through community participation and voice.
Research has found that money directed to programs through Communities for Children returns a community benefit three times the investment.
Read the Social Return on Investment study here.
What do we do?
We support the wellbeing of children and families by:
- Working with parents and children to build child-friendly spaces within community
- Funding other community organisations to deliver services including parenting support, home visits, community events and life skills courses
- Building on local strengths to meet local community needs
- Creating capability within local services systems
- Using strong evidence of what works in the early years of life
As a Communities for Children Facilitating Partner, we take an early intervention approach that supports families to enhance the way they relate to each other, improve parenting skills, and ensure the health and wellbeing of children.
Capturing Children's Voice
The Communities for Children team at UnitingSA and Alberton Primary School collaborated to bring children’s voices alive by creating posters displaying what’s important to them in their local community and how they think it might change over a 10 year period.
Important to Me
Through the annual ‘Important to Me’ Art Exhibition, UnitingSA’s Communities for Children program provides the opportunity for children to share what’s important to them using art.
UnitingSA’s Communities for Children team works collaboratively with First Nations peoples and Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to help children and families thrive.
UnitingSA’s Communities for Children team is committed to working alongside multicultural communities to build confidence, strengthen connections and encourage wellbeing of all children and families.
Our work in the community
Children's Voice - Important to Me
This project creates a fun and colourful composition of children’s images that is used to communicate and promote the things they consider important to them.
More info:
Paint the Town REaD, Paint the Parks & Gardens REaD & Paint the Westside REaD
A whole of community approach to read, talk, sing, draw and rhyme from birth, and to prepare children for reading and writing at school.
More info:
Western Families Forum
A network of service providers, educators and government representatives providing services to families with children in the west.
More info:
Working with schools
We work with local primary schools to bring young people together to share ideas and to celebrate their community.
Recent projects include:
Children’s Parliament ‘Change Makers’
Students are encouraged to get involved to share their big ideas, discuss challenges facing their school or community and create real solutions. Students learn about the democratic process by identifying an issue and campaigning for change. The campaign is run by young people for young people. They also learn skills in team building, public speaking, and leadership in a fun and supported environment.
Time capsule
Students create a message for posterity for their future selves and others. Posters produced expressing what’s important to them and their local community. Pieces will be displayed in an exhibition before being locked away in a “time capsule” to be opened in the future. Students will learn more about their local community and enhance a sense of community identity and belonging.
What do we do?
We are involved in a number of events to bring community together through the year, including:
- National Families Week
- Reconciliation In The West
- Man With a Pram
- Children’s Week
Find out more by calling us on (08) 8440 2299 or emailing our friendly team at cfc@unitingsa.com.au.
Community Partners
A key part of UnitingSA’s role as a Communities for Children (CfC) Facilitating Partner is to identify and fund CfC Community Partners, who can deliver programs to help address the needs of children and families in the region.
We are excited to announce our Communities for Children tender process for North West Adelaide is complete and we have selected our Community Partners for 2022-2024, who will deliver activities and programs to support children and their families, in alignment with the objectives of our Community Strategic Plan 2022-2026.
We received many high quality applications from organisations across the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and City of Charles Sturt, and are delighted to support the following Community Partners’ initiatives.
Community Partner
Program description
Contact
Phone
Supporting parents with postnatal depression through a combination of one-to-one therapy, groups, home visits and supported playgroups.
Contact: Janine
Delivering the Little Steps program to support Aboriginal women who may have or are experiencing family and domestic violence, empowering them to overcome intergenerational trauma, grief and loss, working towards strengthened and more resilient lives.
Delivering the Walk With Me and Culture Hub programs to school aged children to support health, wellbeing and cultural connection.
Programs for young parents aged up to 25, and their children, including Aboriginal-specific parenting programs.
Contact: Michel
Supporting young refugee, migrant and Aboriginal parents, aged 15 to 35, by providing case management, parenting programs, playgroups, community forums and excursions.
Contact: Susie
Providing evidence-based playgroups to support parents to understand more about how children learn, and improve knowledge and skills relating to child development.
Supporting families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds by providing one-to-one support, playgroups and parenting skills development.
Contact: Chau
A mix of programs supporting young parents and parents with infants in the first 1,000 days, along with families who are vulnerable and/or experiencing domestic violence.
Parent testimonials
"I am really happy and grateful to the homework club and to all the volunteers."
"The course has been very enlightening as my son is so young I am glad I have had this course. I can see it being incredibly useful as he grows up."
"I cannot speak highly enough of the very noticeable positive impact this program has had on our lives, since given the opportunity to join this program.
I cannot emphasise enough how impressed I was with the valuable service that we were so fortunate to have access to.
They have been able to introduce our family to support services, parenting tools and knowledge that have helped us adjust to our new lives as parents."