The Dream Big Project

Melbourne, AustraliaLittle Dreamers Australia

$30,785

Raised of $30,000 AUD

Successfully funded on Jun 17, 2017
50 supporters
102%%

About This Project

Who are we?

Little Dreamers Australia is a not for profit organisation, set up in 2009 by Madeleine Buchner. Madeleine has been brought up as a Young Carer for both her brother and mother with a myriad of health conditions. Fuelled by this passion for helping others, Madeleine founded Little Dreamers Australia at age 16 to support Young Carers through the provision of Dream Experiences, Education and Advocacy. Little Dreamers has built it self up to be Australia's leading Young Carer support organisation.

Over the past 8 years, Little Dreamers has supported over 1,200 families throughout Australia and in 2017 we're going global! Heading over to speak at the International Young Carers Conference and meet The Queen in June, 2017 is a massive year for both Little Dreamers and Young Carers and we need your help to better support them, and ensure that we can continue to always support them in the future.


What do we do?

At Little Dreamers we like to do things a bit differently. We take international research, pair it with personal experience of the Young Carers in our team and create world first and world-class programs to change kids lives. These programs aim to remind Young Carers and Special Siblings that they are still children, and that they can be whoever they want to be in life!

Young Carers come up against financial disadvantage, unemployment, poor mental health, social isolation and educational disadvantage. Through Dream Experiences, a Young Carers Festival, Day Dream School Holiday Programs, The Dreamers Hub and Mentoring, Little Dreamers currently supports these amazing kids in most aspects of their lives but not all. To rectify this and to ensure that Little Dreamers provides holistic support we are introducing a five-star, legendary, life changing education program to the mix - THE DREAM BIG PROJECT.


What is The Dream Big Project?

The Dream Big Project is a 10 step education package for schools aiming to positively change lives of Young Carers, teachers & other students. Every Australian classroom has 3 Young Carers in it; and only 4% of Young Primary Carers 15-25 engage in education (compared to 23% of all youth this age) with 50% of those continuing education report caring negatively impacts on their attendance, concentration and performance within the classroom.

The Dream Big Project provides schools with training, resources and assistance to support Young Carers; a toolkit to help identify Young Carers in the classroom; and flexible support plans & skills for the whole student cohort. Schools will be guided to implement these systems & expectations in schools, creating positive social change in attitudes & interaction, in health conditions, reducing stigma; implications of being a Young Carer; and peer to peer relationships.

This program is the first of its kind in Australia and similar programs have been tested successfully internationally and we know that it's time to make the change here.


Why the focus on education?

1 in 10 people under the age of 25 live in a family with a parent, brother or sister who has a serious illness or disability. This figure is likely to be a significant underestimate due to the number of 'hidden' carers and are projected to increase along with the increases in the prevalence of chronic illness, mental illness, disability and addiction.

Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicates that approximately 60% of primary Young Carers between 15-25 years are unemployed or not in the labour force (compared to 38% of the general population in this age group) and only 4% of primary Young Carers aged 15-25 years are still at school (compared to 23% of the general population in this age group).

Young Carers are at risk of poor physical health, impaired mental health and increased isolation due to their caring role.

While Young Carers need:

  • More opportunities for accessing peer support
  • Widespread community awareness
  • Community education
  • Flexible work environments and targeted transitions to work
  • Travel assistance
  • Adequate income support
  • Regular and flexible coordinated respite

They also need schools and education systems that are more understanding and provide more options for them to meet their full potential.

Research has shown that to participate fully and to achieve positive outcomes in education, students need to feel that they belong or are strongly connected to the school community (Becker & Luthar, 2002; Brendtro & Shahbazian, 2004).

There are many things that impact upon a Young Carers' education participation including:

  • Challenges getting to school
  • Poverty
  • Lack of time to socialise with friends after school
  • Difficulties in engaging with others who understand
  • Bullying and harassment
  • Feeling uncomfortable and unsafe
  • Expressing anger and other negative emotions

There are currently no widespread, successful programs focussing on Young Carers in education targeted on a whole-schools approach. The Dream Big Project is aiming to fill this gap!

The Nitty Gritties - How is this going to work?

Little Dreamers has put together a team of experts - Young Carers, students, teachers, psychologists and other young people - to develop, pilot, test and grow The Dream Big Project. The Project features six steps to get a school "Young Carer Aware" and a further four steps (totally 10) to get a school "Young Carer Certified". The process begins with analysis of the school systems:

  • What flexibility policies are in place
  • How does the school identify Young Carers and Special Siblings
  • What are the systems and processes in place once a young person has been identified as a Young Carer or Special Sibling

Once an "audit" of the school has taken place, the fun commences! Little Dreamers works personally to develop and embed the best services, supports and tactical programs to suit your school. Before we even start speaking to the teachers, we ensure that everything is in place - this means that when we run Superhero Identification training with your teachers, the processes are already in place to get started straight away! We will then work with you to develop the best programs for your students - is this through year level workshops, keynote speeches at assemblies, lunch time flash mobs? You name it and we can work it into the schedule.

The end result? A whole school community who is aware of, understands, and knows how to support Young Carers and Special Siblings to empower them, engage them, and help them to live out their dreams.

Once the program is up and running the small fee to run The Dream Big Project in schools will assist with covering the costs of running the other Young Carer support programs Little Dreamers runs. We want to be a self-sustainable organisation to ensure that we can continue to support the 490,000 Young Carers throughout Australia into the future. All we need is your help so that we can develop the resources, run some pilots, test and evaluate the program and begin rolling it out and changing lives.

Use Of Funds

$30,000 Tipping Point Goal

$30,000 is enough money for us to start changing lives in a big way! The $30,000 you are helping us to achieve will allow us to:

  • Develop the 10 step Dream Big Project from concept stage to publication
  • Train Young Carers as facilitators
  • Get the word out about The Dream Big Project
  • Run pilots of The Dream Big Project around Australia to collect feedback and insights
  • Effectively evaluate the impact of the program and develop key insights for the future

The Dream Big Project will be launched into schools as a pilot for 6 months with evaluation & implementation of any changes. Roll out of The Project will continue in its revised form following the conclusion of the pilots.

The Dream Big Project is a fee paying service with funds going back to Little Dreamers to further support Young Carers aiming to develop sustainable support for this amazing group of hidden superheroes.

$45,000 Stretch Goal

We understand that once a program like this launches, it takes a while for it to become financially sustainable on its own. Our stretch goal of $45,000 will ensure that Little Dreamers has the capacity to continue running The Dream Big Project until it is able to fund itself.


Latest News

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Rewards

Select Reward
The Dreamer
$10.00

Thanks for believing in us! You'll receive a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp to put everywhere to show others just how much you care. We promise to keep you up to date about the program throughout the build, pilot and beyond!

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The Believer
$20.00

You're amazing! In return for your wonderful contribution you will receive a copy of our colouring book "Colour it with happiness", a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp, and regular updates about the program.

72 left

Select Reward
The Change Maker
$50.00

We love your commitment to change! For $50 you are providing a Young Carer with the opportunity to attend one of our Holiday Programs at Ronald McDonald House. You will also receive a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp and ongoing program updates.

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The Inspirer
$100.00

You're a legend! In return for your support you will receive a pack of all three Little Dreamers official publications - The Cut in Half Cookbook, My Brother is Sick Again storybook and Colour it with happiness colouring book! You will also receive a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp, program updates along the way and a ticket to our program picnic launch!

50 left

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The Superstar
$150.00

You're the best! We love having you on board and to thank you we want to give you a personal shout out in our newsletter and on our social media! Not only that, but we would also love to send you a pack of all three Little Dreamers official publications, regular updates about where we're at, a ticket to our program launch and a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp.

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The Rockstar
$200.00

Thank you for helping us to make our dreams come true. To say thank you for your generosity we would love to give you a ticket to our Big Dreams Gala being held on Friday 18th August! We will also thank you with a personal shout out in our newsletter and on our social media! You will also receive a our digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp to share with the world.

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Select Reward
The Day Dreamer
$500.00

Wow! For your incredible contribution of $500 we will be making one Young Carer superheroes Dream come true. We will also thank you with a personal shout out in our newsletter and on our social media and you will also receive a our digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp to share with the world, a double pass invite to our Dream Big Project launch picnic in late 2017 and updates throughout the year.

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The Dream Weaver
$1,000.00

Holy moly, thank you so much! For your amazing donation of $1,000 you will receive a tailor-made team building day held at the amazing One Roof by yours truly, the Little Dreamers team. You will also receive a massive thank you in our newsletter and on our social media, regular program updates and a double pass ticket to our program launch picnic! And it doesn't stop there, you will also be getting a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp to share with the world.

20 left

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The Shooting Star
$1,500.00

This is beyond belief - we would love to thank you for you incredible generosity with a keynote speech from one of our amazing Young Carer superheroes, a pack of all three Little Dreamers official publications, a shout out of thanks in our newsletter and on our social media and a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp to share with the world, regular updates about how the program is progressing and three tickets to our program launch in late 2017.

15 left

Select Reward
The Miracle Maker
$2,000.00

You are making all of our dreams come true. As a Miracle Maker you will receive your very own Young Carer assessment and accreditation of either your school or workplace. We would also love to give you a pack of all three Little Dreamers official publications, a shout out of thanks in our newsletter and on our social media and a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp to share with the world.

10 left

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The Big Dreamer
$5,000.00

This is the big one! You are simply the best and in return we want to give you the best - a full table at our Big Dreams Gala on the 18th August, a Dream Experience in your name to one of our superhero Young Carers, a place for a Special Sibling at a holiday program in partnership with Ronald McDonald House, a workplace or school Young Carer assessment and accreditation, a pack of all three Little Dreamers official publications, a shout out of thanks in our newsletter and on our social media, regular program updates, tickets to our Dream Big Project launch and a digital "I care about Young Carers" stamp to share with the world.

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