URGENT ........ KIDS OF VICTORIA Bush Fires need your help!

Hi,

 

ETA 18/02/09 Another 76 to add to our growing tally! Thanks Tracey and Sharon!!!

 

I drafted a happy letter to send out to you to say Thanks for your wonderful contribution to SCKC, we have reached our target for 2009 through your incredible support, I still want you to know how much we appreciate your support but with the awful disaster that has hit our fellow Aussies in Victoria i have an URGENT appeal for the Children that are suffering so very much, I read an email from a yahoo site, Karen Rogers is urgently asking for craft items for the children to make kits, they are severely traumatized and professionals involved in their care are of the belief that they need to channel their distress via drawing and craft creation.........Please read below and see if their is any goodies in your stash you may be willing to donate, I am happy to receive stuff and send it off or you can email or post to Karen direct......PLEASE HELP, these children are every bit as deserving as the kids of SCKC...

 

Hugs

Jules x

 

.... An excerpt from Karens email......

 

Hi Ladies

.....I have been keeping in very close touch with my best friend who is a Manager for a Community Support and Counseling centre in NE Victoria, and she has been, for their organization, in charge of co-coordinating support and counselling for many of the children who have been horrendously affected by this disaster. She is a specialist Child support worker and child psychologist, and I talked with her late tonight about the children and how they are doing, and the various thoughts that have been suggested here on Stamphappy. I in no way want to detract from the wonderful sentiments and suggestions by any of you girls, because I truly believe that at the right time, gifts of stamping/scrapbooking supplies will be incredibly treasured and gratefully received by all or some of the victims.

 

Tonight however, Kath talked to me about the need to meet some needs of the children, and how children have a need to be busy in the face of trauma and disaster - or at least have the wherewithal to do so when they feel a need to. This might mean several hours a day for them, or could even just be 15 mins. at a time. Particularly for girls, but also for boys, they have a need to create as this is a very integral way of expressing their emotions and feelings, and very much is a coping mechanism for them. She explained
to me that while at this time, crafting is not going to be any kind of a priority for the parents, for all the very valid and critical reasons Kath H. shared with us, on the other hand, it could and would be a huge help for the children right now.

 

We talked at length, and with her input and thought and professional understanding firsthand of what they are dealing with in terms of helping the children to work through their own trauma, and have the needs to do so, I promised her that I would do what I could to focus some giving particularly on the children in this respect, and she will ensure that it gets to the children individually.

So.I am humbly seeking your help in any way, big or small to enable us to touch the lives of these dear young children (and others maybe not so young, as there are young teenagers in there as well) Any donations you might be able to round up would be gratefully accepted and appreciated. Anything will go to creating fun and interesting kits for these children. Stamp Pads - dye ink only at this time as they won't need adult supervision to utilise them, cardstock, papers, glue, double sided tape, pens, pencils, markers, stickers, rub-on's, scissors, cutting mats, cutters, stamps, embellishments, brown paper bags with handles for kits( I have some already and will buy some more, ribbons, cords, punches..anything at all would be ever so much appreciated. I have begun to put some bags together with my stuff, and hope that you might be able to help me put together a substantial number of kits so that we can hopefully make enough to cover all the children (approx 300). At this point, I am not real sure how many children are
affected..but Kath tells me it is lots and they have been run off their feet this week counselling and supporting the kids.

I will be going to Melbourne to see her in 3 weeks, and would love to fill suitcases with kits to give her, and she will ensure they get distributed to the kids. I will happily pay excess baggage if I need to , to get them all to her - now I am thinking positive J!!!!

If you can donate anything at all, it will all go to help these beautiful children who have so many needs, both physical and material, but also
emotional at this time.

My address is for donations is: PO Box 75, Campbell Town. Tasmania 7210

kdrogers07@bigpond.com

 

 I realise that 3 weeks doesn't leave a whole lot of time to pull this together, but please, at least think about whether you can help. If
donations come in after the 3 weeks, I will continue to put the kits together and undertake to send them on to Kath each time I have 10 ready to

go.

Thankyou for reading this far, and thankyou for caring, as we all do, for all the victims of this tragic situation.

Optimistically preparing to help in the small way I can..please join me.

Smiles and hugs

Karen Rogers

Comments

[Tracy]

Whilst I have donated money to the cause, this is the type of donation I really want to participate in. Having a hands on approach makes me feel like I am really helping, thank you for this opportunity.
I am also glad to see acknowledgement to the children and their emotional needs. Sadly, the trauma to them by these terrible events I am sure they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
I will post items this week and some more memory pages which the children may like, or for future SCKC.
Thank you again for this opportunity, and in some ways it is a healing process for us as well, who have watch helplessly the events unfold on TV.
Regards
Tracy
my2angels