Sweet Dreams and Good Night Wishes in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | Charitable organisation

Sweet Dreams and Good Night Wishes

Locality: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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25.01.2022 The Palaszczuk Government has launched a media recruitment campaign for a special job. Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women Di Farmer said the opportunity required Queenslanders with extraordinary hearts to be successful. Queensland is looking for foster and kinship carers who can help make a difference to childs life and potentially transform their own, Ms Farmer said. The foster carer recruitment campaign is seeking Queenslanders from all walks of life to consider... providing a safe, stable home for children in need. Were looking for carers to help out with short-term care, long-term care and the care of young children and teenagers, including siblings. Most of the children were seeking carers for are unable to live safely at home but could find the sanctuary they need with you. Being a foster or kinship carer can make a big difference and provide a future for a child in need, its a special role for Queenslanders with extraordinary hearts. The recruitment campaign features six real foster carer stories promoted on TV, digital platforms and social media until the end of September. Each video presents a unique perspective of the foster carer experience of couples and singles and Queenslanders with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. Ms Farmer said Queensland had around 10,000 children in out-of-home care. Thats a significant number of children in need of love and a safe place to call home, particularly when our cohort of foster carer families is just over 5400, Ms Farmer said. We need foster carers just like you and you dont need to give up your day job, in fact we have carers from many professions. Extra time at home during COVID-19 has given many of us the chance to reflect on what matters most and there are few things more important than a child who needs your help. For those who have never been foster carers before, we supply the training and support through specialist agencies and a tax-free fortnightly allowance to help meet the needs of the child or children placed in your home. The message is a simple one; Queensland needs foster carers with extraordinary hearts and compassion like you. To learn more about becoming a foster or kinship carer visit www.qld.gov.au/fostercare or call Queensland Foster and Kinship Care on 1300 550 877. Foster carer videos and stories: Ctrl and click on a carer name to read about their foster care experience or watch the 30 second video. Rose Pearse 30 sec video: https://youtu.be/dbbcS2VW5tU Joyce and Matt Twiggge 30 sec video: https://youtu.be/yNmS3Z1b1e0 Meegan Reeve and Stephen Labinsky 30 sec video: https://youtu.be/HgrGclOFnq8 Chris Pye and Sophiaan Subhan 30 sec video: https://youtu.be/_ks3EaVsuPs Donald Mathias and Millicent Okoh 30 sec video: https://youtu.be/cRttre9RuGw Daveena and Des Lawlor 30 sec video: https://youtu.be/E1Jkba-2k64 See more

23.01.2022 Just a reminder that all items in Care Bags need to be new please. Although many preloved or second hand items may be in great condition (and there is a time and place for these items) we like for all items to be new. We prefer for items to have tags on and unwashed so the kids and carers know the items are new. There are a few reasons for this, a child who receives the bag may have an allergy to pets or laundry detergent which is why the items need to be new and unwashed. It is also about letting these children know they are worthy of new items that were purchased specifically for them, it adds to their sense of self esteem and respect if they are provided with new items. Thanks for all your support

22.01.2022 CQUniversitys Chiropractic clinic would like to offer all foster carers and their families the opportunity to attend their clinic at a discounted rate to say thanks for all their hard work. Please contact them directly if interested

20.01.2022 Today I was chatting with a worker who was able to give a Care Bag to a 7 year old girl a few weeks ago. The foster carer was telling their worker that on the first night the girl came into their care she had head lice and didnt want her hair washed. As they were digging through the Care Bag for her pyjamas they found a JoJo bow in the bag and her eyes lit up. The foster carer told the girl if she let her wash her hair and remove the head lice they could put the bow in straight away if she wanted. She agreed and has proudly worn the hair bow every single day for two weeks. This beautiful, small addition of a bow to that Care Bag was absolutely perfect for that child in that moment. Meant to be

19.01.2022 So excited to share our final tally of Care Bags for this round of collections.....1041!! Can you believe it? It is only thanks to everyones incredible generosity that we have been able to supply Care Bags to Child Safety offices and foster care agencies all across Queensland! Still a few more deliveries to go but for now at least all bags have been checked and labelled. And a big thanks has to go to my Mum who checked and stored over 900 bags at her house...it takes on average 5 minutes per bag to check all the contents, add missing items, label it and add it to the checklist....I havent done the maths on how many man hours she put into making sure every Care Bag was perfectly packed but it was a mammoth effort

18.01.2022 Great news! We have secured transport to get 60 Care Bags up to Mt Isa (transport to Mt Isa has been difficult in the past so this is awesome!!) BUT we need to get the bags from North Lakes to Toowoomba by this weekend for them to leave on Monday. Just wondering if there is anyone out there who can help?? The bags will be in about 10 standard moving boxes to make it easier to transport, however this amount of bags will fit loose in a standard car (so we could take them out and you could take them loose and put them in the boxes when you arrive at the depot in Toowoomba). Please send a PM if you can help

18.01.2022 Hi everyone, just a reminder that you can drop off Care Bags at any of the following locations until Friday next week. This project does not run all the time and only at certain times of the year when we know stocks are low. So if you want to get involved, there is a week and a half left. Thanks

17.01.2022 Big thanks to Robbie from Loot homewares store at Redcliffe and Dawn from CQUniversity Health at Indooroopilly for offering their workplaces as collection points and delivering Care Bags to us - I think there is about 130 Care Bags in this photo

17.01.2022 CAN YOU HELP?? We have received a special request from three Child Safety Offices up North who would love to access some Care Bags for children entering foster care in their region. As we are down to the bottom of our stocks, I have just checked and we are missing several big sizes for both genders. I thought I would put it out there and see if anyone had the capacity to put together a Care Bag over the weekend which can be delivered to Mango Hill on Sunday afternoon? All ba...gs must contain the following NEW items as we will not have the capacity to buy missing pieces: One backpack One pair of pyjamas One set of clothes Underwear/crop top Socks Toothbrush Hairbrush/hairties Reading book or colouring book/journal and pens Comfort item - soft toy/blanket etc. You may add any other item you feel may be useful, ie, hat, drink bottle, watch etc. Please do not include razors, aerosol cans, food or items which may leak. Please also remember the size does not necessarily correlate to the age of a child so please make sure the bag is appropriate whether it is given to a teen or a child who wears bigger sizes. I am hoping for approx 42 bags (6 of each group). Please remember this is to fulfil a specific request so can only accept the following sizes: Girls size 12, 14, 16 Boys size 10, 12, 14, 16 If you can complete a bag and get it to Mango Hill by Sunday afternoon, please comment on this post with the gender and size of the bag you can complete (so we dont end up with more than we need). Thanks so much See more

16.01.2022 Oh this letter made me smile! Thanks to the wonderful Year 4 kids at Shorncliffe State School

16.01.2022 Whilst working on our project, one of the things I have loved the most is seeing how many kids get involved. In the spirit of teaching our kids about giving and kindness, Im sharing this post because I love it when kids learn about charitable acts. Our farmers are not only struggling financially but emotionally and mentally as well and this is a lovely idea to raise their sprits

16.01.2022 What a lovely card which arrived in the mail today from our friends at Anglicare who received some Care Bags to distribute to children entering foster care

13.01.2022 TRANSPORT NEEDED TO TOWNSVILLE AND MT ISA Hi team! We have received some requests to send some of our wonderful Care Bags up north to Townsville and out to Mt Isa. Mt Isa Child Safety let us know their last batch of Care Bags were so well received by the kids who got them and were so impressed at the quality of items in the bags!! The only way we can get these Care Bags up north is by relying on the kindness and generosity of transport companies, truckies or just regular peo...ple who are heading north from Brisbane. There are 12 standard moving boxes to go to Townsville (about 80 bags) and 10 to go to Mt Isa (about 55 bags) but we can take them out of the boxes if that is easier to transport. If you have any contacts who may be able to help, please get in contact and let us know. We would love these Care Bags to get to these gorgeous kids up north See more

12.01.2022 A big thank-you to the wonderful Kate who contacted us a few weeks ago and let us know that her employer had generously given staff a gift card to help them through COVID-19 and she wanted to pass it on to us. Lovely Kate has also made a generous cash contribution which will make a huge difference - thank-you

11.01.2022 Today we dropped off 50 Care Bags to the Morayfield Child Safety office who were super thankful to be able to provide these to children entering foster care

11.01.2022 What to include in a Care Bag: ESSENTIAL ITEMS Backpack One set of pyjamas... One set of new clothes Underwear Socks Hairbrush/Hair ties Toothbrush COMFORT ITEMS (one or more) Cuddly toy Reading book Colouring books/pens OPTIONAL ITEMS Hat Drink bottle Blanket Any other item you think a child might like PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING Food Razor blades Aerosol cans Anything which may leak ie, shampoo, body wash, bubbles, nail polish etc. Although you may have some pre loved items in great condition, please do not include these. All items must be new.

11.01.2022 As you may have noticed, I try and avoid posting personal photos on this page, for several reasons (most importantly because it takes a whole community to run this project, not just us). But this week has really highlighted the importance of me wanting to share this. For those who dont know, my name is Melissa and Ive worked in child protection for nearly fifteen years. These are my children Miss 5 and Mr 9 who came up with the Care Bag idea last year and set this project i...nto motion. My childrens father was born to an Aboriginal mother and Maori father so we understand how important cultural identity is and how systemic racism impacts on that. In Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children comprise 8% of the population aged 0-17 years, yet as of 30 June 2019, represented 42.7% of all children in foster care. In this time of uncertainty there is potential for change and we encourage everyone to use this time to make a difference See more

10.01.2022 This morning we dropped 50 Care Bags at the Child Safety office at Loganlea and staff were so thankful for your generous donations Thanks to staff member Eliza for helping to carry the bags in and posing for a photo

09.01.2022 A big thanks to the lovely team at Centrelink Deception Bay who donated 27 Care Bags plus some extra items to go to children entering foster care

09.01.2022 Thank-you to all of the wonderful people and organisations who have offered their space to be drop off locations for our Care Bag project. Care Bags can start to be dropped off next week, please google the organisation for opening hours and remember to practice good hygiene and social distancing when dropping Care Bags off. DROP OFF LOCATIONS 15 JUNE - 17 JULY 2020... BRIGHTON - Brighton State School, 2 North Rd BELLARA - Office of Ali King, 2/33 Benabrow Ave BURPENGARY - Goodstart Early Learning, 113-117 Buckley Rd CAROLE PARK - Shamrock Civil Engineering, 195 Cobalt St EAST BRISBANE - Mainline Security Products, 2/54 Caswell St INDOOROOPILLY - CQU Health, Level 2, 70 Station Rd KALLANGUR - Office of Steven Miles, 1/15 Goodfellows Rd KELVIN GROVE - 270 Kelvin Grove Rd LANDSBOROUGH - Landsborough Community Kindegarten, 13 Maleny St NAMBOUR - Drysdale Funerals, 33 National Park Rd NARANGBA - Office of Shane King, 232 Young Rd NERANG - Somerville, 129 Nerang Broadbeach Rd NORTH LAKES - Princess Parlour, Cnr Endeavour Blvd and Mason St ORMEAU - LJ Hooker, 10/170-174 Pascoe Rd REDCLIFFE - Loot Homewares, 105 Redcliffe Pde REDLAND BAY, Little Scholars, 89 Collins St SAMFORD - Tadpoles Early Learning, 1 Chalmers Ct VIRGINIA - Clinical Innovations, 36 Matheson St WOODRIDGE - Office of Cameron Dick, Logan Central Plaza, 38-74 Wembley Rd

09.01.2022 Thanks to Tim for nominating us to win $500 worth of vouchers from Kippa-Ring shopping centre! This will make a massive difference in helping us top up Care Bags which are missing bits and pieces

09.01.2022 Wishing a very Merry Christmas to all the wonderful people who follow this page and have supported our family project this year! With our pyjama/pillow project and Care Bag project we have been able to support over 2000 children entering foster care in Queensland since the start of this year. We know that we see an increase in the number of children entering care over the holiday season and hope that if they receive a Care Bag they remember their is a community behind them, t...hinking of them and wishing them well. We could not have helped this many children without the hundreds of amazing people who helped put together Care Bags, co-ordinated drop off points and transported bags for us, thank-you! As for next year, we will continue to be guided by the need in the community and feedback from the Department of Child Safety and foster care agencies about whether they require more Care Bags as the last thing we want to do is take up a collection and have it sit in a room/office and not be used. We understand how much time, money and effort people put into their Care Bags and we want them to go directly to children who need them. So please keep following our page for updates and we wish you all a safe and Happy New Year See more

09.01.2022 Hi everyone, Im sure many of you have seen this fundraiser on Facebook over the last 24 hours. I think so many of us are wary about all the fundraisers and people seeking donations through local community pages on Facebook that it is sometimes hard to tell who is genuine or not. I feel this fundraiser has been so successful because Celeste Barber is not only a funny comedian but an ambassador for other charity projects so I think everyone feels safe knowing this money will go to where it is needed. If you have been thinking of donating, here is a great opportunity

08.01.2022 How great does this photo look? The Care Bags we sent up to Mount Isa-Gulf Child Safety arrived safely and are all ready and waiting to provide comfort to children entering foster care in one of the most remote parts of Queensland

08.01.2022 If you dont have the capacity to put a full Care Bag together we would love any bits and pieces that we can use to make up Care Bags. The Golden Circle Factory Outlet at Morayfield is a great place to pick up some of these items

07.01.2022 Some lovely feedback from a carer all the way up in Gladstone who wanted to pass on her thanks to everyone

05.01.2022 A big thanks to Shane King MP who has offered his office space as a drop off point for Care Bags for the last two years. How lovely to be mentioned in parliament last night Dont forget to drop off Care Bags to any of the drop off locations by Friday this week

04.01.2022 Thanks to Cameron Dick MP for offering his office space at Logan as a drop off point for Care Bags. When I was organising drop off locations I had trouble locking one in as I was told people who live in Logan are takers not givers and I was told we wouldnt receive any donations so it wasnt worthwhile. Im so thrilled they were proven wrong and we collected over 60 Care Bags from the wonderful people of Logan

03.01.2022 Hi everyone, we have started to receive some messages from people who would like to get together with their friends/colleagues and donate Care Bags for Christmas. Unfortunately this is not something we are doing, we have already collected and distributed almost all of the 1000 plus Care Bags we received during our last collection. The purpose of a Care Bag is to provide comfort and emergency supplies to a child who is entering foster care, the intended purpose is not to give ...them as Christmas gifts. The Department of Child Safety hold its own annual appeal for Christmas gifts for children in foster care and will be accepting gifts at all the Child Safety offices until 6th December - you can check out the website for further info. Thanks for all your support this year and for making so many journeys into foster care a bit easier with your lovely Care Bags See more

03.01.2022 Hi everyone! We have started to receive some requests from Child Safety offices about sending more Care Bags again. In the next few weeks once things start to return to normal we will advertise drop off points and start collecting Care Bags again. In the meantime, I am sharing feedback received from Cairns Child Safety who received some Care Bags recently I would like to give you some feedback on your bags. I have been at child safety for well over 14 years and I can tell... you these have been the best bags ever! We gave some out yesterday to some young children and the childrens reactions were priceless, the bags really made them happy and they were very eager to put on the new clothes. The children spent some time in our office in the afternoon and they drew/wrote a beautiful thank you note for the CSO and Team Leader which is now proudly on display on the wall outside the Team Leaders office. The quality of the bags and contents certainly do make a difference to the children, so a big thank you to you and your volunteers! What lovely feedback! Keep an eye on the page for updates in the coming weeks

02.01.2022 For anyone looking to drop Care Bags off on a weekend (it might be hard to get to a drop off location during the week) feel free to drop them at Loot Home Warehouse at Redcliffe on the Esplanade

02.01.2022 Its been a tough few weeks for child protection in Queensland. Many people are wondering what they can do to help and although an increase in the number of high quality foster carers would be amazing, we know not everyone has the time or capacity to be able to do so. We started the Care Bag project last year and were able to provide over 2000 to Child Safety offices and foster care agencies all across Queensland thanks to the generosity and kindness of those who wanted to mak...e a difference. Care Bags are provided to children entering foster care or moving placements in the foster care system. We know that children entering foster care often arrive in the clothes they are wearing with no comfort items from home. They are scared and vulnerable and we hope that by gifting them with a Care Bag they feel the love and care from the community who provide them. Care Bags contain essential items such as a backpack, new set of pyjamas, set of clothes, underwear, socks, toothbrush, hairbrush, hair ties and comfort items such as a book, cuddly toy/blanket or pens and colouring books. This means that when a child enters foster care, the foster carer does not need to rush out to purchase items straight away and can focus on building a sense of safety and security. The Care Bag project will run from 15 June-17 July and Care Bags drop off locations will be listed next week. Thanks for all your support See more

02.01.2022 Some lovely collections starting to come in from childcare centres. Big thanks to Teds Oxley and Goodstart Early Learning Coorparoo - Park Street

02.01.2022 Hi team! I hope everyone is well and now as COVID restrictions start to ease we are able to start thinking about our next Care Bag project. Over the last few weeks we have been approached by a few Child Safety offices who are keen to get some Care Bags so its time to get ready! Before we announce any specific details, we need to organise a few drop off locations where people can drop off their bags for collection. Please remember we are just one family running this project.... I am now working full time so dont have the capacity to drive around and collect bags from the collection points. SO, if you have a business that you would like to offer as a collection point, can you please send me a PM with details (business location and opening hours) and whether you will have the capacity to drop off any donated Care Bags to Mango Hill. If you think you would be able to help, please let us know, but be aware some locations received up to 200 bags last time so you will need to be able to deliver these to us (an average car can fit about 60 bags at a time). The project is likely to run from mid June to mid July. Once we have locations sorted we will keep you updated with more details such as dates, what to include in Care Bags and any other FAQs. Thanks for all your support See more

02.01.2022 A big thanks to some wonderful people who have put together and dropped off Care Bags. The wonderful Samm McGuire on the Gold Coast has 60 Care Bags collected from her community ready to drop off. Also big thanks to the team at Gold Coast Hospital and Max Employment Inner North Brisbane Disability Services Team for their contributions. Dont forget, tomorrow is the last day to drop off Care Bags at drop off locations

01.01.2022 Care Bags are starting to arrive!! Big thanks to Samm who collected over 100 bags from the Ormeau drop off point and Katie who also delivered approximately 100 bags from the Virginia drop off point as well as the people who have directly dropped off to us

01.01.2022 UPDATE - we have sourced transport to Bundaberg and Mt Isa now We have been approached by Bundaberg Child Safety and asked to send 50 Care Bags to their office. How wonderful that news of our project is spreading and we are getting requests like these....however we rely on the kindness of people driving between towns to help us transport the Care Bags to our rural friends. So, in order to fulfil this request, is there anyone heading from Brisbane to Bundaberg who might be able to transport the bags for us? Please let us know if you can help! We are also still having trouble finding someone who can transport the 50 Care Bags we have set aside for Mt Isa Child Safety.....there are a bunch of soft cuddly toys waiting to meet their new owners so please let us know if you can transport to BUNDABERG or MT ISA - thanks!