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Peter Williams Trust Fund

                                                   ...a focus on early childhood

Small Matters Newsletter

May 2008

The Peter Williams Trust fund was established in 1996 by Dr Alan and Dorothy Williams in memory of their son Peter. In their respective careers both Alan and Dorothy were a formidable team in the advocacy of quality services for pre-school children and their families, and especially for those children who faced the challenge of social and material disadvantage. This newsletter aims to keep you up to date on how the Trust funds are being utilised and to provide you with information on the programs that are helping the children of Victoria.

New Grants for 2008

We received an overwhelming number of applications for grants in 2008. Unfortunately we are unable to support them all. We will be providing funding for programs being run by:

Meadow Heights Learning Shop

Meadow Heights Learning Shop is a non-profit organisation that runs a number of programs for children from a wide age range and diverse cultural backgrounds. In their Occasional Care Centre it has been identified that most of the children lack the ability to develop and enhance their gross motor/large muscle skills and hand/eye coordination due to a lack of suitable equipment. This year the Peter Williams Trust will provide a grant to purchase some Kindergym equipment (climbing frames, trampoline, balls) for this centre that will assist with the children’s physical development while in a fun, safe, social, friendly and supportive environment.   

Trustee Profiles - Elizabeth Short and Philippa Williams

The family of the founders, Alan and Dorothy Williams, is well represented in the trust with the recent addition of two of their granddaughters Elizabeth Short and Philippa Williams. Elizabeth became a trustee in 2006 and has been responsible for producing the trust’s newsletter as well as setting up the website. Elizabeth completed a Science degree in 2000 and has since been working in the Product Management field. Philippa was welcomed to her first meeting in March this year and is currently in her fourth year of Science/Law at Melbourne University. Together Elizabeth and Philippa will bring the perspective of the younger generation to the Trust's activities. 

Geelong Kindergarten Association

Geelong Kindergarten Association is the umbrella organisation for 31 kindergartens within the City of Greater Geelong and Surfcoast Shire. In Geelong a significant proportion of children, especially from disadvantaged communities, arrive at the kindergartens with some type of developmental vulnerability. This incorporates many facets from medically diagnosed conditions to difficulties with social competencies such as behaviour or deficits in speech and communication skills. This year the Trust will be assisting in the "Hands on 3214" project which will attempt to address children within the postcode 3214 (Corio) - deemed to be one of the most disadvantaged postcodes in Victoria. This project provides guidance for staff to identify children requiring additional needs and for them to create objectives for the children that they can work on. It also allows staff to make home visits to assist the families of these children. 

Audrey Brooks Memorial Preschool

Audrey Brooks Memorial Preschool, situated in West Heidelberg, consists of 2 four year old kindergarten programs with the majority of the children coming from refugee families from Somalia, Lebanon and Afghanistan. Many of the families have difficulties with housing, health, language and relationships, and their financial hardships and transport issues mean that they rarely move out of the local area to visit other places. The Peter Williams Trust has provided a grant to assist the preschool in the "Community Exploration Program" which will take these children and parents on excursions around and outside their community - to a farm, zoo, park, and beach. These excursions will help to build upon their experiences and to foster their social, emotional and language development and to develop a positive relationship between the children and their families.

Corio Bay Senior College Child Care Centre

The Corio Bay Senior College Child Care Centre supports young parents (under 25) to return to complete their secondary education by providing on-site child care facilities and support network. Over the last year there have been a number of Karen (Burmese) refugee families relocating into the Corio area from refugee camps who speak very little, if any, English. At this stage there is a lack of information available to these families in their own language on issues such as Child Care, Kindergartens, Dental health, Immunisation, Nutrition, and Maternal Health which is vital to the health and wellbeing of their children. The Peter Williams Trust has provided a grant to assist in developing written material in the Karen language and also have available telephone interpreters that will allow parents to access information on issues affecting their children. 

Grants

Currently the Peter Williams Trust disburses approximately $25,000 each year.  There is great need in the community and each year more organizations and programs are seeking our support than we are able to provide. With your help in the form of a donation the trust can hopefully provide support for even more of the programs addressing issues of disadvantage being experienced by many preschool children and their families.