The beginning

Dandelion Support Network has a life of it's own. We may have created it and we are currently stewarding it, but it belongs to something much bigger than us.

In December 2011 we contacted the social workers at our local hospitals asking to meet them for a 'proof of concept' type meeting. Our meeting was scheduled for January 2012. We did eventually have that meeting - on the occasion that we delivered our 3rd package of baby goods to the hospital!

You see Dandelion is only 4 months old. In our planning documents we had expected to launch around now. But our launch was expedited when we got a phone call 2 days before Christmas asking us if we could help a young family. They were leaving the hospital on Christmas eve with nothing. They had a few jumpsuits and that was all. Upon hearing the news we paid the insurance we needed in order to operate out of our personal savings instead of waiting to fundraise for it. We had to, that family needed a Christmas Miracle and that miracle was us.

Our founders (and baby Hugo) on the first delivery.

Little did we know that day that we had opened a flood gate. A flood gate of generosity, community spirit and compassion.

The why

Since our first delivery we have helped more families all facing difficult situations. Some of the issues our recipients face include:

Domestic Violence - Substance Abuse - Teen Parents - Social Isolation - Long Term Unemployment - Homelessness - Serious Illness - Mental Illness - Post Natal Depression.

The package sent out to a homeless father & his 6 wk old infant.

The insanity of it all is that the items that make such a difference in our communities were once destined for hard rubbish and landfill! It is a win-win-win situation:

1.Our donors get to pass on their baby items and reclaim their home from the cultter of baby gear.

2. Our recipients have access to safe, high-quality items that they may not have been able to obtain and are reminded that the community values them

3. The lifespan of the items is lengthened and we reduce the environmental impact of raising a family and reduce local landfill

This equipment & toys rescued from hard rubbish clean-up. Now safely in the hands of needy children.

Your role

We feel so blessed to de doing the work we do. Every week we get to prepare little packages of love, to go to the needy neighbours in our community. There is nothing more fulfilling than knowing a parent can rest easier knowing their tiny babe will be warm and safe. 

But nothing runs on love alone. Costs are incurred in processing donations, storing and delivering them. We are relying on the community to support our work. We are relying on you.

Without your contribution we cannot deliver clothes, shoes & cots to babies in desperate situations. 

Please, donate now.

The Community Response

We know Dandelion works because it has been a roaring success over the past 4 months.

We aren't asking you to believe us, here is what our social workers have to say:

“Thank you so much for the support your organisation is providing to our clients in need. It really makes a difference.”

"This beautiful cot (bassinet) will be used for viewings for parents and families who have suffered the loss of a stillborn baby – having such a gorgeous cot to present these babies [in] will definitely make a big difference to our practice and to their healing."

"[my client] was so excited, it was very rewarding being able to provide some of that much needed practical assistance to relieve some financial strain. Wouldn’t have been able to do it without your support. So thank you.”

And this is what our donors say:

"Dear Amazing and Wonderful people at Dandelion Support, I would like to commend you on a beautiful job you are doing, I am sure there are some appreciative parents out there."

"You're such amazing women... I'm so inspired by your big hearts."

"I have been following your work, and I am really excited to offer some help."

Dandelion is an amazing thing to be a part of. It humbles and inspires us every day. We would love for you to be a part of it too.

We need your help to help families to help families.

Please, donate today!

We are raising funds to launch our tiny organisation officially and to cover our overheads for our first year. Reaching our tipping point would at least assure us that we continue to make a difference in the face of the tremendous need we see everyday in the community.

Reaching our goal and beyond will allow us to help even more babies and to plan for the future.

The numbers are the least inspiring aspect of our organisation, but important none the less. We have kept our operation lean and frill free. We partner with local businesses as much as possible to keep our costs down. But there are still basic overheads.

Our forcast budget for 2012 is $9751. The breakdown is as follows:

Insurance $1700

Storage space $ 3120

Storage fit-out $ 1400

Transport & delivery $800

Government registration $731

Packaging $750

Printing $1000

Cleaning products $ 250

Tipping point budget:

Insurance $1700 (Boring but vital to ensure our volunteers & recipients are covered)

Government registration $731 (To register our organisation in NSW & The ACT)

Printing $500 (business cards and postcards to spread the word and thank you notes to our donors)

Storage fit-out $700 (to ensure our donations are kept in water and dust proof containers.)

Storage space $960 (4months rent of our storage space)

Any funds beyond our goal will go towards Dandelion Days; a project to take Dandelion Support Network on the road. Helping us to help more communities by relocating to different areas for a day; accepting donations & sorting and processing them with local families, businesses and agencies. By inviting local families, donors, volunteers, support agencies & businesses to come together and do something good we hope to make better use of our resources, assist those needing help in areas other than our own and break down the taboo associated with needing help.

Without your contribution we cannot deliver clothes, shoes & cots to babies in desperate situations. 

Please, donate now.