President's Report - Pregnancy Help Inc
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THE MICHAELS
Class of St. Michael Official Newsletter
President's Report
Kia Ora!
What an interesting year it’s been for Pregnancy Help amidst some turmoil
within the not-for-profit sector. As I came into the role, the DIA had just
announced a funding cap on branches, which affected some branches more
than others.
MSD had some changes of its own this year with the introduction of the
Ministry for Vulnerable Children and discussions that made it seem unlikely
that National would be receiving future funding, which in the end did not
eventuate. The Outcomes development project was placed on hold as a result
of this uncertainty but has subsequently been resumed.
Also, this year saw a National Coordinator come and go and a new
Coordinator step into place after many years of stability with this position.
National Executive
The National Training Seminar celebrated the 40 years Pregnancy Help has
Members
been doing amazing work within different communities within New Zealand. At
National President the seminar, we learnt from the Comms Collective about social media changes
Siniva J Isaia and from the Brain Development Trust about how those first years really
impact a child’s developing brain.
National Treasurer
Lai Choo Too Branches continue to do amazing work within your own communities.
Flexibility and volunteers allow the services to be tailored to the diverse
National Executive requirements of each community.
Members
Stephen Cairns I would have liked to have continued my journey on the PH National Executive
Selena Branson but ultimately increasing work and family commitments meant that I could not
do the role justice, but I wish all of you the best for the future and I will continue
National Coordinator to be involved on the Canterbury Branch Executive as I believe in the
Ariana Wilkins organization and the driving force behind it; passionate staff and volunteers.
Stephanie Sisson
Treasurer's Report National Office Our financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2017 have been audited by HLB Mann Judd Limited of Auckland. We received grants, donations, branch levies and interest income totalling $58,516 which was $2,130 higher than last year. Our major funder was the Ministry of Social Development. The current MSD contract covers from 2015 to 2017. The second biggest funder was the Lottery Grants Board. Others such as Pub Charity and Society of Mary were also generous supporters. The total welfare and administrative expenses for the year were $60,331 which was $5,039 less than last year. Deficit for this financial year was $1,815 compared to a deficit of $8,985 last year. A total Consultant fee of $3,500 was paid to Evaluation Works for developing the Outcome Framework, reviewed and revised the Client Intake Form and Client Feed Back Form. Further spending on the project will depend on funding and decisions of the new National Executive Team. Consolidated Financials (8 Branches and National Office) The Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2017 have been prepared in accordance to the new Financial Reporting Standards and the Tier 3 format required by Charities Services. The financial statements have been reviewed by HLB Mann Judd Limited of Auckland. The total Group income was of $558,319. The total Group expenses were $546,456, giving a total Group surplus of $11,863. Last year’s Group loss was $63,861. The net assets for the total Group has increased from $252,005 to $263,868. The improved results showed that the Group has performed efficiently in controlling expenses. Staff, volunteers and Committee members have all worked very hard to deliver quality services and free items which helped more than 10,000 clients this year. With the changes in DIA rules, raising funds will be more challenging. I hope Pregnancy Help will continue to serve our communities and achieve great outcomes in the year ahead. Lai Choo Too National Treasurer
Otago We continue to foster positive professional relationships with the agencies and services that we are working alongside within the community and work collaboratively to maximise outcomes. 16.70% of clients were referred to us by other agencies and services. 8.24 % of clients were provided with information about other agencies and services or supported to engage with other agencies and services. We took part in the Baby and Child Show and had a Safe Sleep Day display at Queen Mary. Since 2011 we have been active in providing opportunities for our clients to provide feedback to us, and once again they participated We reflect on the enthusiastically in this process (34.92% overall participation rate). 2016/2017 year as being a 20.80% provided feedback via paper, 35.71% provided feedback via very positive one. The Surveymonkey or Facebook, and 43.47% provided feedback via text funding environment has message. become increasingly • 97.05% of respondents indicated that the services provided had made challenging over a number parenting easier for them (or will make parenting easier for them). of years, however, we • 2.61% of respondents were unsure if the services provided had made have good relationships parenting easier (or were going to make parenting easier for them). with funders and our • 0.32% of respondents indicated that the services provided had not made applications are supported parenting easier for them. with good quality • 94.23% of respondents indicated that the services provided had helped outcomes information. We them to be safe, strong and independent. get overwhelming support • 5.42% of respondents were unsure if the services provided had helped from the community to them to be safe, strong and independent. provide the practical • 0.33% of respondents indicated that the services provided had not support that we do and helped them to be safe, strong and independent. social media (Facebook) • 11.71 % of clients were provided with safe sleeping education and supports us to engage with information. our clients and supporters • 2.81% of clients used our premises as a supportive breastfeeding venue. in a way that is accessible • 0.96% of clients were provided with information about breastfeeding and relevant to the era of support services. technology. • 0.86% of clients were supported to engage with antenatal care. • 28.52% of clients were provided with standard resource packs, containing information about parenting and safe sleeping. • 13.12% of clients either self-selected or were provided with other resources e.g. parenting, information about other agencies and services.
Wellington Our client numbers for 2016/2017 reflects the huge support our branch provides in Porirua, Wellington Region and the Hutt Valley Region’s. In the last 12 months we have serviced 4,753 clients. We are a drop-in service that offers practical assistance (clothing and equipment), guidance/information, telephone support line, and referral services. Porirua remains the largest region where we service a high proportion of our clients, followed by Wellington then Hutt Valley. Our branch numbers for items that help babies and their whanau are, 11,466 new born clothing items, 14,251 other clothing items, 1,452 cloth/modern cloth nappies, 1735 disposable nappies, 146 bassinets and new mattresses, 751 items of bedding, 376 maternity items, 642 other items. We estimate we give away over 30,000 items in our client area where clients can come in and help themselves to items we put in this area. Pregnancy Help Greater Wellington is recognised as a reliable service in the Wellington community and we are well used by other social agencies. We have formed good networking relationships with other like-minded groups who support us and vice versa. Overall, the number of clients this year indicates the on going existence of families struggling to provide the basic necessities for their babies. The Kaikoura Earthquake in November 2016 caused existing crack lines to show up on our building so for Health and Safety of everyone we vacated while checks were carried out and this caused a slight drop in numbers for the last year due to our reduced days and hours we were open from different premises. Our branch has been operating 11years in Wellington since reopening
Invercargill This year has seen fluctuations in numbers throughout the months of the year. Numbers from our statistics have indicated that we have helped 150 clients actually seen at the ‘rooms’: this number is down from previous years indicating that families are managing themselves. Other “clients” have been supported over the telephone, via the internet (emails/’facebook’/website). The total number of clients for this financial year has been 343 and proudly we have been able to assist all of our contacts in some way. Most of our clients have been provided with new-born sized clothing and in excess of 1580 items of this size has been given out. Some premature sized clothing has also been provided along with in excess of 500 articles sized 3 months to 2 years. Nappies have also been distributed and 20 dozen flat nappies along with 54 modern cloth nappies have been accepted. Pregnancy Help has a ‘memorandum of understanding’ with the Nappy Lady and we therefore encourage “cloth” nappies. Disposable nappies are given out in our Maternity Packs which provide 12 per pack. Due to a decrease in funding it was decided that we would not continue with Maternity Packs when our supplies have run out. This service would not exist if it not be for our team of dedicated volunteers both in the rooms and those who supply us with beautifully crafted knitted, crocheted and sewn clothing and bedding. Our 100% volunteer workers are unique, for many agencies/services do not have this cost saving luxury. Nine volunteers work in the rooms attending directly with clients and there are about 70 support volunteers. This past year we celebrated our “support team” of willing knitters, sewers and others with a luncheon at Invercargill Bowling Club (who also catered the function). Our guest speaker was Constable Dave Hague who spoke on how to keep ourselves safe in our homes and our communities.
Canterbury Though we have faced challenges this year, our client contacts and positive impact in the community is ever growing. In fact, we had an 11.7% client contact increase over the last financial year. We distributed 40% more items of clothing and bedding and lent out 18 more bassinets this year. All of these figures represent a steady, if not growing need in Canterbury for our service 573 women and their whānau received information and guidance. Distributed 8,085 items of baby and maternity clothing and bedding. Gave away 147 packs of nappies in addition to 211 reusable modern cloth nappies. Lent out 47 bassinets & wahakura and 150 other baby equipment items such as prams, safety gates, high chairs, bouncers, front pack carriers, etc. We acknowledge all of the office/drop in volunteers and Branch Executive members who have shared time and skills this year. Our Branch Executive members each give selflessly many evening hours contributing to a strong governance and leadership team as expressed in the Chairperson’s report. I concur that each of them plays a vital role in the success of our mission. Pregnancy Help Canterbury has also been especially fortunate for the continued leadership of Neil Brosnahan who lends experience and dedication to the role of Chairperson. So many others give time selflessly as and when needed in one-off voluntary roles. We are truly blessed by each giving person that supports us with time and donations. In fact we had 1,286 hours donated to operating the drop-in centre and an additional 13,912 hours of volunteer knitters and sewers time creating baby clothing or bedding which were much appreciated by clients’ families and adds a loving touch to the services we provide. We also had a hugely successful Knit Kit Drive in which we mailed out skeins of merino with a pattern for a newborn singlet. In this way, we were able to engage volunteers from the wider Canterbury community and those with transportation limitations while greatly increasing our woollen clothing offerings to those most vulnerable to winter’s cold. Life members: Patricia Chapman, Sue Currie, Lyn Fitzgerald and Mary Woods (now in Wellington). We are truly grateful to the continuing support of Pregnancy Help members and members of the community. We received a total of $28,260 from various donors. Community members continue to drop off pre-loved and some new baby clothing, bedding and nursery items. The volunteers at the Drop In Centre sort these items and make sure they all adhere to Health and Safety requirements before passing onto the families and babies who need them.
Auckland The first quarter of 2017 has been the most hectic three months since I started at Pregnancy Help. Hilda has been a wonderful asset to me in helping with the day to day running of our office since her return from her holidays and I’d like to put on record my thanks to her. On 27th February, Hilda and I attended a one-day workshop organised by the Exchange Collaborative (isolation of migrant and refugee women). We were fortunate to be in a group of ten who won $500 for our ideas to create solutions together. Pregnancy Help is now involved with setting up a migrant/refugee cultural event – there is nothing to be done for now, just our ideas as we have constant communication with these groups (migrant/refugee). Following our notice asking for volunteers in the various Parishes, we had about 18 responses which are heart-warming. Unfortunately, not all 18 will be able to volunteer as they can only commit during the weekend. We have arranged for the introductory day with the committee to be on Friday, 24th March and the counselling training for Monday, 27th March. Fundraising – Hilda, the darling she is, is looking into organising a fundraising event for Pregnancy Help (Hilda was very involved in fundraising in her past roles in Malaysia). As she will be devoting most of her time to this project, she has sought permission from her employer who has given her his blessings. New Office – we had a look at the Loft in the opposite building (Cathedral House) and the owner has been hounding me for a response. The long and short of it is that it looks like Liston hall, so we’ll forget that. However, we need to actively look for alternative office space because of the constant lift problem.
Taranaki Even though our client numbers have decreased this year we have still been rather busy. This decrease can be seen as a good thing for our clients - as they are more able to provide for their family/whanau. This year we have noticed an increase in clients from other ethnicities mainly Asian, Russian, and European. These clients have relocated from other regions for employment, closer to family already settled in Taranaki, making a fresh start or they have decided that they like the region. Since Nappy Bank has been running we have had enquiries from parents wanting to know how Nappy Bank operates and how the service can be accessed. These parents using the service have been really appreciative as they did not have to outlay the cost of nappies. Our Birthing and Parenting classes are being attended by pregnant women and their partners. Donations from the Taranaki community are still coming in at a steady rate. Our bin at the Plunket rooms are well used. The different branches of the Womens Institutes in Taranaki continue to have Pregnancy Help and the Neo Natal Unit at Taranaki Base Hospital as the organisations they continue to support. We are very fortunate to have the support of Salvation Army, Taranaki Hospice, St Vincent De Paul Society, One Stop Charity Shop, Red Cross as well as the wider Taranaki community. We now have drop of locations in New Plymouth, Stratford, Inglewood, Hawera and Opunake. It is with regret that we have had to accept the resignation of our North Taranaki Fieldworker – Leanne Gilbert. Leanne has been a great asset to Pregnancy Help with her report with our new and existing clients as well as her promoting of Pregnancy Help in North Taranaki. She was a valued member of our Pregnancy Help whanau. As part of the National Executive meeting in February it was decided that NE was to manage getting a board for our branch. Through extensive advertising through different avenues interest parties put their names forward to become the Branch Executive for Taranaki Branch. An induction process was done with Sharyn Crawford – National Coordinator and Diane Thornton – President of National Executive. The Branch Executive will be managing the running of our branch. This is great as for quite some time the Branch Executive was made up of mainly employees – which in effect has meant that employees were managing themselves. It is going to be a positive learning curve for everyone concerned. During June this year we have been very fortunate to have Kay and Mike Walmsley volunteer their time to Pregnancy Help. Mike has become our handy man doing any job we ask. Kay does any task we ask her which is great. They are a real asset to us. Our annual Volunteer Week outing was attended by everyone. This year we went to Shakee Pear for morning All in all we have had another busy year and I thank all our staff and volunteers for the time and effort they put in with the running of our branch.
Hawkes Bay The relatively small size of our community makes our branch one which is able to make quick changes or adapt to individual needs quickly, we are happy that we meet the practical needs of many families in CHB whilst collaborating with a team of complimentary organisations. One of the challenges we face is finding volunteers to share governance roles within our small branch, we continue to move in the right direction with delivery of service whilst working on ways to increase volunteer numbers. The environment we work in has been our main consideration this year, in the past our clothing and equipment has been stored in a large garage, the use of which is kindly loaned to us by our local Plunket branch. We have been able to use their car seat rental rooms as a venue to meet with clients once a week. Mid-year 2016 the car seat-rental scheme was terminated and we were able to secure use of their rooms on a share basis. We now store our baby clothes and layette equipment inside the consultation rooms and have direct access to clean, dry storage, cleaning facilities and an all-weather pleasant environment to both work in and welcome our clients to. We are pleased to have built up a great number of regular donors who drop-off clothing and equipment, often on behalf of friends and family..they are happy for the opportunity Pregnancy Help provides to ‘give back’ to their community. There has been a surge in activity on our Facebook page and requests for help on local discussion pages. The use of this format has meant quick responses and direct assistance for our clients plus a lift in publicity resulting from an instant visible online presence. We are aware of the increasing need to establish online guidelines regarding information sharing and set response protocols, in an ever changing environment we feel fortunate to be able to go to other branches of Pregnancy Help for shared advice and suggestions.
Taupo
It has been a busy year for Pregnancy Help Inc Taupo with Clients. We have had referrals from
organisations that we have not dealt with before. This has come around by our social media posts and
word of mouth.
We have seen an increase of clients coming into the office as we are now centrally located in Taupo’s old
maternity building along with other social services. We are waiting for Tuwharetoa Health to start the
Family Start contract here in Taupo. I have approached the new manager but at this stage have had no
reply about when the service will be up and running. We have always had a good working relationship
with Family start.
We have had more families this year that have moved to Taupo for housing or cheaper living and they
have not prepared for the cold.
We are so lucky to have a great community that
supports our service by donations of clothing,
nursey items and toys. Our volunteers wash all
prem and new born clothing items and any other
sized clothing that made need it. We never turn
down any items and any unsuitable clothing is
taken to the clothing bins to be recycled. Are
donations are always check over to make sure
they are safe before they are handed over to our
clients.
This year has been a busy one due too:
• New families moving to Taupo due to housing
shortages elsewhere.
• We have had a lot of full term small birth weight
babies been born this year and not having
Premature clothing. We are also with sadness saying good bye to three
• Networking and social media referrals. long time Committee members Anita, Josie and Diane.
These three ladies have been on the Pregnancy Help
committee for over 4 years and have done various
roles from Chairperson to Secretary. I would personal
like to thank them for their time and effort they have
put into training me in my role and making sure that
Pregnancy Help Inc Taupo remains helping our local
pregnant and new mothers. They will be missed.
I would like to welcome the new committee members
to Pregnancy Help Inc Taupo and look forward to
sharing ideas and continuing our great service in our
local community.
I would also like to thank all the people who have
donated items and knitting to pass on to our clients.Extract of Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended
30 June 2017
Pregnancy Help Inc.
Statement of Service Performance
For the year ended 30 June 2017
Statement of Performance
Our 8 Branches provided information, advice and
practical support to 10,567 clients over the past
year. Quality maternity clothing, baby clothing and
bedding materials were given to families who were
struggling financially. Resources and information
packs on pregnancy and early childhood were given
to clients to enable them to make good choices.
Collaborative activities were held with Whakawhetu
(Safe Sleep Day), local communities and baby
expos. One Branch established a mobile service to
reach clients in other parts of their city. One Branch
established two new outposts to widen the reach to
clients in a large city. One Branch ran parenting
programmes and another ran drop-in groups with
the Depression Support Network. All Branches ran
Nappy Banks, providing free cloth nappies thus
helping clients to save money and help the
environment. Clients were also referred to other
services and welfare organisations to help meet their
needs.
Description of Outcomes
Our clients reported that our support and services
have made parenting easier, reduced emotional
stress and made a positive difference in their lives.
The supplies of free maternity clothing, newborn
clothing, newborn bedding, and clothing up until the
child is 2 years old have greatly reduced their
financial stress. Our provision of a 4 months loan of
a bassinet together with safe sleeping information
pack and advice have helped parents to make good
choices in regards to safe sleeping for babies.
Free telephone service provided advice and support
which was very valuable to clients who needed to
talk to someone who cared.
Description and Quantification of Output
Total number of clients: 10,567
Clothing items provided: 84,582
Cloth nappies provided: 3,487
Bassinets lent: 423
Full Reviewed Report and Notes have been posted on Charities Services Website (CC51116)Extract of Consolidated Financial Statements for the year
ended 30 June 2017
Full Reviewed Report and Notes have been posted on Charities
Services Website (CC51116)We would like to Thank the following supporters Lotteries Commission Midwives and Wellington Hospital social COGS – Wellington, Lower Hutt, Whitireia. workers Hutt Mana Charitable trust. Salvation Family Store Porirua – Ongoing Paddy Brow Trust donations. Wellington Community Trust Tawa Catholic Women’s League – TG McCarthy Trust Donations of Knitted garments St Davids Foundation Red Cross – Porirua / Hutt Valley Pub Charities Community Breastfeeding team - CCDHB The Lions Foundation Beanies for Babies – Donations River Life Church – Avalon – Hutt Mobile Plunket/Well Child Service venue Arohata Women’s Prison The Salvation Family Store Porirua – Ongoing Porirua Union Health donations. House of Grace Plunket/Well Child – Tawa/Linden – baby Neonatal Trust – Wgton Hospital clothing Te Umuiaga Paft The Neonatal Trust Shop (NICU) – knitted Citizens Advice Bureau Porirua items and nappies Kiwi Community Assistance Inner Wheel Group – Tawa – knitted woolen Ora Toa Services – Takapuwahia clothing Sands - Porirua Inner Wheel Group – Kapiti Tawa Union Church Inner Wheel Group – Eastern Hutt Equippers Church-mother’s day packs St Vincent de Paul – Khandallah – baby Bendigo Valley Sports and Charity clothing Foundation. New Zealand Red Cross- Upper Hutt knitting COGS. group and various knitters through Wellington Combined Churches carol service Plimmerton Red Cross – knitted clothing donation. Tawa Catholic Women’s League – Donations Dunedin Casino Charitable Trust. of Knitted garments Dunedin Central Lions Club. Johnsonville Crafty Critters Dunedin City Council Community St Michaels Gill - Waikanae Anglican Womens Funding. fellowship. Dunedin City Council Rates Relief. House of Grace - clothing Healthcare Otago Charitable Trust. Kapiti Women Centre - clothing Lion Foundation. Sands – Donated to Sands beanies from PH. Lotteries Community. Tawa Union Church – financial donation Lucas and Lucas. Kiwi Community Assistance – baby clothing. Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Team Naenae Lower Hutt. - knitting Tamariki (formerly Ministry of Social Ora Toa Health Services – Takupawahia Development) Community Breastfeeding Team Otago Community Trust. Pacific Breast feeding Service The Trusts Community Foundation. He Huarahi Tamariki – Secondary school for United Way. students who are pregnant or have young children Community Breastfeeding Advocate/Educators St Vincent’s de Paul – Newtown – Delivering our beds on our behalf. Wesley Community Action -Family Start Taeomanino Trust – Family Start - Pacific
Takitimu Craft Group donated 42
Ministry of social development
beautiful quilts – July 2016
N Brosnahan
Sutherland Trust $3000 – July ’16 for
Palm Cottage Opportunity Shop
computer
Pregnancy Help Trust
Sacred Heart CWL $25 -August ‘16
Phil&Teds
St Theresa’s CWL $50 September ‘16
Philip Brown Fund
Red Cross – 105 items of knitted
Pub Charity
garments September ‘16
RATA
Stephanie Brown Memorial Trust
S & P Consedine
The Warehouse Bags for Good Charity
Salt Electrical
October ’16 for prams
Shirley Wyatt In-Lieu of Funeral
Southland Masonic Trust November
Flowers Donation
’16 for prams
Southern Trust
Community Trust
The Trusts Community Foundation
Heather Webb and the Wednesday
The Twisted Hop Brewery
Morning Craft Group in Christchurch
Twigger endowment fund
have again supplied us with ‘cuddle
William Toomey Trust
bunnies’ and other knitted items that
are very much appreciated by the
clients who receive them.
A Robinson
Adoption Option
Anonymous Gifts
Auto City
Coca-Centre for contemporary Art
COGS
F Lothian
EM Griffen
H Mann
J Delaney
J M Smith
Jones Foundation
L Fitzgerald
Lion Foundation
Lottery Grants Board
M Stewart
Maureen Brosnahan Estate
Maurice Carter Charitable TrustYou can also read
