Waste less, share more, care for every baby

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Spring Newsletter

September 2019 Welcome to spring!

Hi

Welcome to Geelong Mums’ spring newsletter - how wonderful to know that spring is here! This year is flying by and, as always, your support has been making a huge difference to families in need.

Your impact

As we told you in our last newsletter, we’ve been as busy as ever at Geelong Mums and the tree below shows our impact over the last financial year. Because of you, we were able to support 6,129 babies and children with 18,301 items, helping vulnerable families across the G21 region.

I want to thank every single one of you for your ongoing support because, without you, none of this could happen. Whether it’s donating your pre-loved baby clothes, making a financial donation to one of our appeals to help cover our ongoing costs, or spreading the word about Geelong Mums to your family and friends, we’re so very grateful.

Community fundraising

We are often approached at Geelong Mums by community groups, schools and individuals who would like to fundraise for us. We absolutely love it when this happens because it not only helps raise vital funds to keep our doors open, but it also raises awareness in the community about what we do.

Events range from sausage sizzles and casual days at schools, to Christmas in July functions at workplaces, baby showers and even fresh fruit stalls for eager footy fans!

If you’re interested in learning more or would like to hold a fundraiser for Geelong Mums please visit our website [[link removed]].

How to clean just about anything..

Because everything we give out to families is beautifully presented, packed, safety-checked and spotless we always appreciate items being cleaned before they are donated to us. Our CEO and the co-founder of St Kilda Mums, Jessica Macpherson, outlines below the best and most natural ways to clean nursery items - feel free to use this on any household items!

Cleaning tips from our CEO….

Most nursery items are designed to be easy to clean. But it helps to have a few tricks to make it as easy as possible, and when you have little ones around you will want to use products that are completely natural.

You won't believe how effective a simple mix of baking soda and Castille soap is - we call it Magic Pixie Dust.

Make a solution of baking soda and Castile soap (50/50), and thin it with a little water. You can make as little as a tablespoon at a time - how much you make depends on how many things you have to clean. Baking Soda is active so it’s best to make and use immediately - the mixture is not effective if you store it over time.

Prams

Prams get especially dirty on the leading edges and the fabric can go shiny and grey - this is dirt. Rub the paste into the fabric of your pram with your fingers. Leave it for five minutes and then scrub with a hard bristle brush. Then you simply hose down and sun-dry.

This mixture will lift dirt and stains right out of pram fabric - so that you don't have to remove the sling or hood from the frame.

Highchairs

It also works wonders on highchairs - you can push the mixture into all the nooks and crannies, and use an old toothbrush to really get in once the mixture has loosened all the dirt.

Once it's scrubbed clean, hose it down to get in all the sides. Do this on a sunny and hot day so all the parts dry very quickly.

Car seats

Magic Pixie Dust will remove stains from the fabric of your child’s car seat too! Remove the cover, paying careful attention to how you remove it, as you’ll need to remember how to put it back on!

Rub it in, give it a gentle rub (not hard wire in this instance) and pop it in the washing machine on a hot wash. While it is washing and drying you can hose out the plastic frame, using an old toothbrush to remove the raisins from the corners!

Again the mixture will lift any crusted-on dirt (especially in the base). Sun-dry and replace the fabric.

Other uses

Magic Pixie Dust will remove grease stains from clothing, and is easy to use for spot cleaning also.

I use this very same solution to clean my bathroom, the kitchen sink, to take dirty fingerprints off paint - you name it. The great thing about it is that I never worry about the kids getting into my stash of cleaning products. Baking soda is a cooking ingredient, and the Castille Soap is what we have in our bathroom! You will find Castile soap at your local health food shop.

Volunteer spotlight

Christie Reid

Family: My husband Alex and our boys, Hamish (9) and Thomas (6) and an imaginary cat!

How did you hear about Geelong Mums?

I bought a Geelong Mums fundraising candle from a kinder mum, Bianca Clair, who happened to be one of the founders and it all started from there.

Why do you choose to volunteer?

Because it makes me feel part of a community minded group and gives me a purpose. I also enjoy working and meeting new people.

What does Geelong Mums mean to you?

Promotion of the values of love and kindness to those in our community who need it, through gift giving without judgement.

Best moment so far?

Every moment is joyous for me. Whether it’s listening to someone’s story upon greeting them in the car park as they donate goods or packing shoes for children to run and play in and feel loved.

New Chair announcement

In July 2019, after more than two and half years as Chair of the board for St Kilda Mums, Geelong Mums and Eureka Mums, Linda Grace has stepped down to spend more time with her young family.

We're so thankful to Linda for her many years of volunteering. She first volunteered as a member of our Fundraising Subcommittee, back in 2012 before we had any employees. She has been instrumental in growing our fundraising capacity and, under her leadership and guidance, our annual impact has increased 20 fold.

The board elected Deidre Mackechnie to be our new Chairperson. Deidre first joined our board in 2017.

She has had an extensive career in health, initially training as a nurse which led to clinical education, followed by a move to human resources and subsequent roles in senior management. Deidre is the CEO at Multiple Sclerosis Australia. She has postgraduate qualifications in Education, Human Resource Management and Governance.

Welcome Deidre and thank you Linda!

Dates to remember

Please note that we will be closed on the following days:

Friday 27 September - AFL Grand Final Eve

Saturday 28 September - Grand Final Day

Tuesday 5 November - Melbourne Cup Day

#therealbabybundle

For the past few weeks we've been asking the community to support our real baby bundle appeal. A gift of $126 enables you to provide one baby or child with the items they need for a safe start - from a cot to a breast pump, and everything in between! Our goal is to raise enough from this appeal to provide a bundle of essential items to 85 babies and children.

The generous response we have received so far has given 23 children the essential nursery equipment and clothing they need, but we need to raise the funds to reach the rest of the babies and children who need our help.

If you can, please consider making a donation of $126, or an amount of your choice (every dollar counts!) using this page [[link removed]] today. Thank you, however you can help will mean we can support the families who are added to our waitlist every single day.

Thank you once again for all that you do in sharing our vision of a future where we waste less, share more and care for every child.

Warm regards

Julia Roache

General Manager

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