Koala North West provide practical support for families with children aged up to 12 who need a little extra help, through thoroughly trained and vetted home-visiting volunteers, as well as running support groups.
Koala were winners of a CCF President’s Award for excellence, for this project’s superb delivery and impactful outcomes.
Thank you so much Cheshire Community Foundation for this prestigious award. The families we support put their trust in us to provide good advice, practical help and emotional support. It’s wonderful to know that our expertise is recognised in the sector and this stamp of approval will bolster us to continue to innovate and grow. The funding we have received from your donors over the years has been instrumental in our journey, and it’s an honour to have this recognition of our hard work.
The grant of just under £15,000 funded a part time post for very experienced worker who could provide tailored support to families where their situation was too complex to match to a volunteer. It also covered the costs of an intergenerational group – Full Circle. The benefits of supporting babies and toddlers alongside older people have been well documented, and this group demonstrates those benefits weekly.
Half of this grant was donated by one of our placed-based group funds, the ForCheshireWest fund. This is a way for numerous local donors to pool their resources and benefit the community. The other half of the grant was donated by a family of donors, where the youngest generation in the family make the decisions about which projects to support; a very fitting match for this intergenerational project.
Koala NW has really helped me with my emotional health and supporting not only me but my children, my outreach worker supports me on a weekly basis and it’s like having an amazing non-judgemental friend! This support I’ve had has helped me through such a difficult time and it’s lovely to know I have an outlet and people to speak for support and reassurance. I am really thankful and also grateful for this service and all the support me and my two children have received.
It’s been a tough few years since moving to Ellesmere Port, an area that I knew very little about, but with the support and motivation you have given me I can now say me and the children are feeling settled and safe, you have given me guidance and confidence, I wish I had known about you sooner. Thank you.
I have had support from Koala NW for over six months now and I can honestly say I don’t know what I would’ve done without them. After having my baby, I felt very isolated and alone. It was very tough for me, I had no routine and never left the house. My amazing support worker has helped me get out the house and go to places I would’ve never gone on my own, helped me go to baby groups where I have made new friends and supported me in any way she could. My baby adores her, Koala NW has given me the support I needed to be more confident in myself and I would recommend them to anyone who is in need of a bit of help and direction.