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Our Mission

A Note from Our Founder

Welcome to the Charlie’s Gift Community.

The wellbeing of our aged, especially as they reach their frailer years, has always been important to me.

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After working in various community aged settings within NSW Health, it became clear that those who were socially isolated experienced more health difficulties and hardships than those who remained socially engaged and connected to their communities.

When my dad became ill with cancer, I experienced firsthand the benefits of local community support. I was so grateful to those in my father’s community who were there on call when needed, knowing that all of his children and family lived out of the area.

I was proud to be my father’s daughter when told by those in his community “how much he enhanced the lives of many locals dependent on others for their life quality and wellbeing”.

That is why Charlie’s Gift was founded because as our aged population grows, so too will the risks of isolation and hardship for our most vulnerable.

With your support, our own aged community, who reside in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie regions, will not experience the hardships associated with social isolation and loneliness.

Go to our page ‘Get Involved’ page to find out how you can help today.

Gratefully yours

Shelly

picture of shelly

Our Mission

To provide face to face companionship and support to the older people of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie experiencing loneliness and social isolation and enable them to participate in meaningful social engagement and connect with their communities.

picture of elderly lady

Our Vision

That no older person in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie regions will experience loneliness or social isolation and associated hardships.

Charlie's Gift values:

INTEGRITY  |  EMPATHY  |  ENABLEMENT  |  COMMUNITY

  • We are governed by a culture of integrity, honesty and trust.
  • We value our role as an Australian benevolent not-for-profit/charity independent from any religious, political or industry which does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion or political affiliation.
  • We are driven and resilient in achieving our mission and objectives.
  • We respect and value diversity.
  • We are empathetic and compassionate to the needs of our older community, our personnel and those within our local communities and strive to offer understanding and support.
  • We strive to empower and enable our older community to achieve social engagement and wellbeing.
  • We recognise and value the professionalism, skills and experience of all our personnel and their contribution to institutional learning and development.
  • We respect, value, support and promote all within our local communities
  • We appreciate and value our donors and supporters. Giving back to our community is important to us.
  • We believe that social engagement and community connection is the key to wellbeing.
  • We believe that to help one helps many and that enablement to social engagement and community connection is the key to wellbeing and chronic health prevention.

Charlie's Gift objectives:

  1. To develop, perfect, and implement two six month companionship and support programs for our aged community.
  2. To prevent those at risk in our aged community from social isolation and hardship due to loneliness and dependence on others for social engagement.
  3. Through companionship, identify any issues or difficulties that those on the Companionship Program experience and, with consent, provide the support needed to address these difficulties.

Examples may include:

  • Provide information on community groups and activities within the local areas
  • Provide companionship and support to participation in groups and activities meaning to them.
  • Provide an empathetic and safe place to enable rapport and confidence to share feelings and needs.
  • Provide advice as to what businesses and services may meet their needs and assist to set them up.
  • Provide respite and companionship when caring for a chronically ill spouse.
  • Provide financial assistance (if needed) to prevent a risk of injury, ill-health, or hardship affecting wellbeing and ability to reconnect to their community.

 

 

‘The assets and income of the organisation shall be applied solely to further its objectives and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of the organisation except as genuine compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the organisation.

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