An Australian charity providing essential material aid to displaced children
PUTTING CHILDREN FIRST - SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN ENTERING OUT OF HOME CARE AND EMERGENCY ACCOMMODATION
Rough Sleeper Packs
Essentials for young people sleeping rough, on the streets or couch surfing and needing a hand with toiletries, warm socks and beanie, wipes and sanitiser to support good hygiene, restore dignity and support social inclusion. Rough Sleeper Packs are often distributed by organisations providing food relief.
School Essentials Packs - Our newest program
In response to a request from Foster Care Association of Victoria, and kinship carers Australia wide, B4VK are proud to be launching our School Essentials Packs program in 2021. Basic school supplies are essential to ensuring engagement in education, and a feeling of equality. This little bit of support can make a world of difference.
B4VK Founder, Sally Beard
What we do
Did you know that 45,000 Australian children are in an out of home care placement such as foster care? There are around 4000 new placements each year in Victoria alone.
Often children are placed quickly into foster care, kinship care or emergency accommodation without much more than what they are wearing at the time. We provide them with a few essential items to ease feelings of loss and to help with their relocation.
How to help
We operate solely on donations sought through fundraising, grants and sponsorship. We keep our overheads as low as possible (just rent on our Headquarters and equivalent to 3.1 employees) so most of your donations will go directly to purchasing necessary backpack items and shipping them to agencies.
Your support is always very much appreciated. Please do not hesitate to ask us how you can help in other ways too.
Watch our videos to find out more, or see B4VK in action via this news clip from Channel 7.
2022 Victorian Protecting Children Awards Finalist - Robin Clark Making A Difference Award Category
The 2022 Victorian Protecting Children Awards celebrated the pivotal role our child protection workforce plays in keeping Victorian children safe and families strong. The Awards also recognise and celebrate what has been achieved by the Victorian child and family services system and community over the past 12 months.
It was an honour indeed to be nominated by the Victorian State-Wide Child Protection Team, long time distributors of B4VK's ME Packs, and to be announced as a Finalist.
Here's what they're nomination said:
"Due to the generosity of B4VK, Central After Hours Placement Service has found consistent feedback from Child Protection Practitioners that the essential items in the backpacks have been not only in assisting the child to settle and transition into placement, during a crisis, but also from the carers perspective, to be able to have essential items in order to be able to focus their attention on the childs needs. In addition, we have been able to keep sibling groups together by supporting carers with additional items needed to be able to make the placement possible."
Congratulations to all winners, finalists and nominees whose work contributes to the safety and wellbeing of our most vulnerable.
Who we help
Our packs must be requested in writing using our Supply Request Form. Requests can be submitted by the following organisations:
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Foster care agencies
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Department of Health and Human Services
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Victoria Police
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Crisis support staff and crisis accommodation facilities
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Children's and Family Services staff
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Refuge Facilities
With your support
The estimated cost of a pack is $75 (an increase of $25 per ME Pack due to COVID19 that we aim to turn around by 2022), but saves an agency or carer approximately $400.
We have delivered more than 22,000 packs to children in need since April 2015, saving agencies and carers, time and money. To date Backpacks 4 VIC Kids has delivered more than $4M worth of material relief to local children. Thank you for your support!
Our free programs
ME Packs and ME Jnr Packs
ME stands for My Essentials. Our ME Packs help by providing quality backpacks and nappy bags to displaced children aged 0-17 years, in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. Children may be homeless, entering Out-of-home care or emergency accommodation.
Backpacks and nappy bags contain size and gender appropriate contents including essential items such as toiletries, clothing, sleepwear, a torch, blanket and a toy or activity which will belong to the child, and will stay with them should they be relocated. [Read More]
Disaster Relief Packs
Similar to ME Packs but customised to meet the needs identified by workers supporting people displaced by disaster. B4VK is proud of our readiness to respond quickly and efficiently in bulk and in times of urgent need.
