One mum’s baby bundles become life-changing charity
Evie Wood was handing out newborn clothes, which her baby had outgrown, when a local social worker told her the women she worked with could benefit from packages similar to the ones she had just advertised.
The clothes had already been removed, but this interaction got Ms. Wood thinking.
Her community in northern NSW had been hit hard by the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning when she gave away that parcel of clothing.
Ms Wood wondered how many other parents might need support to get the essential supplies they need for their babies.
“My mother and I had a rumor going around and unfortunately we have a rich history of children being taken away from my family,” the Byron Bay resident told AAP.
“This conversation with the social worker led to a huge learning curve.”
Mother and daughter went on a mission, using government COVID-19 payments Ms Wood received to cover the costs of putting together some packages for parents in need.
“We took the biggest beach bags we could find and packed them hard as a rock, full of everything I would want when I was about to give birth,” she said.
Ms. Wood eventually returned to her legal practice, but the idea hatched during maternity leave never went away.
When he met local businesswoman Pam Brook, their charity, the Coolamon Community, really took off.
It takes its name from an indigenous word meaning carrying container, sometimes used to carry babies.
Women began meeting with Aboriginal health services to talk about what was most needed to support new mothers.
Ms. Wood soon realized the need for continued collaboration and partnership with Indigenous health organizations that provide culturally safe care to mothers and babies.
“It turns out it’s not just about offering a nice gift of basic needs, which we do, and it’s amazing, but it’s also about the connection to life-changing healthcare,” she said.
Mothers and babies living in northern NSW to just over the Queensland border, as well as in remote parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia, are now receiving the organisation’s coolamons.
These rooms serve as safe sleeping areas for babies; It’s filled with items like clothes, toiletries, bedding, diapers, wipes, books and toys.
The organization recently received a Snow Foundation grant, which provides grant funding and peer support to social entrepreneurs.
Ms Wood said the support would help her organization expand to more communities, especially in remote areas.
He said this would also help ensure the Coolamon Community made a difference in the long term.
“We can’t be like every program… they come in, then there’s a change of government or funding runs out and they disappear, leaving communities struggling,” Ms Wood said.
