Out and About With Kids in Hawkes Bay

...this for my friends not so much to donate but to share if you can and so that you can understand where I have been for ages now.. bit hibernating but working quite hard on a number of things x

WHY???

.. yes I have been asked.. WHY??.. so here is a little story.. a long one actually. O "WHY"..why I need to raise some money and I guess "why" I do what I do. xx

Ok so I am going to share this givealittle page everyday for awhile.. ( I have until the end of October). It is hard to accept in so many ways but all I can say is that the 4.5 years that I have committed to this page have been from my heart..and with joy and passion and no regrets..( and our families finances when needed). The money raised here will be to pay back a few people who have helped me and all money will go back into making this page even better and in turn making me even stronger.. yes STRONGER because in all honesty I need to be stronger..stronger for me and my family and my beautiful community .

For the last 6 months I have had to employ someone almost full time to help the admin and distribution of my charity drive. It's been mammoth!! Some may say why not just take on volunteers...however this is work I do in my home and at all hours of the day and night and protect my families privacy it has been my choice to do it that way. I'm sure most of you would respect this and if you were in my shoes I'm sure you would understand. As the community work grows and the page leads itself towards becoming a charitable trust ( which is work and cost in itself and huge commitment from me to make this decision) I do need some funds to help in this way. I guess what so many of you don't realise is that behind the scenes there is so much work done that cannot even be talked about openly. Domestic violence is huge and upsetting and appealing and I deal with this EVERYDAY via messages from scared mums..and dads and even teens, rape, suicide, depression, seperation, post natal depression, death of a family member..stillborn babies..miscarriage ..these are all topics I deal with weekly..not necessarily that I wish to but OAA and I have become a format and platform that loads of people trust and feel they can ask for little advice when they are scared to ask the "right people"..or don't know who to ask or google things and get confused..OAA is who they can trust and can seek some confidential advice. I am in no way qualified to deal with these mattersand never claim that I am or ask people to message me about these topics..but they do.. and for whatever reason that is how we roll. I do not however ever ever dismiss these messages as who knows maybe they need a helping hand to find the resources they need . I take these messages very seriously and do my best to find the help that that individual person needs. This as you can imagine is heart breaking and also very time consuming and upsettng. The messages come at all hours and some days I wake up to some pretty serious matters that I need to respond to asap. My family sometimes has to take second place and this is hard. So as much as I don't "ask" for the hard, raw, horrific situations that I become involved in I do do something about them. This takes time. I always try to make sure "anon" can see a Dr asap...a midwife.. or whoever they need. Im some cases I have to call the police and It is with heavy heart that I tell you that quite regularly I am the go between for a mum and her kids and her getting out of a horrific situation. These are the things you don't hear about because they are urgent and the page isn't the place to post those issues. The reason I am telling you this is so that those who read and follow the page can understand what OAA is all about. From the outside its about finding a kindy or daycare..a lost snuggly toy, a rental property..firewood.. a make up artist.. a hairdresser for kids.. a baby sitter...networking for business..finding friends for mums and kids alike...coffee groups.. support for rural mums.. . help from mums to other mums about issues like bullying..adhd...support groups ..nappy rash...breastfeeding...bottlefeeding..formula..allergie support group... a restaurant for kids..a restaurant for a date night without kids...how to find a pure bread chihuahua breeder..or how to find a lost bunny,dog,cat,goat,horse.....to feeding families.. helping kids get school uniforms...a solo dad got help from abunch of mums on how to do his daughter hair ( I love that story).... charity drives..and more charity drives worth over $100,000 dollars and more..collecting 7000 warm items of clothes one winter and packing them into boxes for families in need.... giving 1000's of families Christmas for the last 3 years and most recently 6000+++ kids new pjs... this is my "community role". This page was started as an online network for parents to connect and share ideas.. it grew and grew and grew. As did the workload and the expense of even running a car for all this work!

So all the while this has grown so has my family.. I've had another baby..I work part time in my family business and I have role at the HBDHB representing Mums via a role with Maternity services.. all while raising kids..being a mum.. wiping bums.. homework..being a wife..spending time in and out of HB and Wellington hospital with our youngest.. well I guess something has to give and it has. I can't do it all.. all the time. So yesterday I did accept the offer for help.

I want you all to know that this page gives me pleasure and satisfaction along with wrinkles and grey hair. I love my role advocating for our region.. our families and our children and I wouldn't change that. Out and About will become more streamlined over time.. it may become a charitable trust.. which does however mean more work and isn't as easy as it sounds.

One thing that will take precedence is the Our babies initiative. This is an awesome initiative and I hope it goes nationwide. ONEDAY!! This is something I feel that is doable and absolutely necessary..giving "Our Babies" our most vulnerable newborns the chance to leave hospital with a warm merino wrap, woollen clothes knitted by the gorgeous Yarn HB ladies and other cotton and merino items. It also gives those mums a little boost with a message that says "a gift for your baby from a community that cares" I will continue to raise moneyand sponsors for this over time.

Out and About is a strong and important platform for community connectedness and support..good old fashioned "mum to mum" and "dad to dad" support in a time when community is often falling apart or disconnected. OAA can connect those that want to and showcase what our region has to offer for families. Because this post has become a novel I will share another story.. last week a Dad messaged me. He had been transferred here from another country for work. He longed for his family to join him. After months of living in a sleep out he approached Out and About and we actually found him a home. We found him a home so he could be reunited with his family. That blooming rocks!! He messaged me last week to tell me the excitement he felt about being able to bring his family to live with him and how excited he was to be able to take his child to see the marine parade gardens for the first time..the first time they had been together in months. That my friends is one of the lovely stories of this page... I could go on.

So yes I am going to accept some help..and that for those who wonder is "WHY"???!!!

Oneday I would love to commit myself full-time to helping grow this community even more and to put us on the map as one of the kindest, best little communities in the world to raise kids and live and be kind to one another.. we are getting there. For now I will go and tend to my sick kids.. do the washing and reheat that cup of tea for the 5th time...and this eve when all is quiet 😂😂

..hopefully I will do some payed work and reply to todays messages on OAA. Thanks for reading.. I hope you aren't asleep.I wish I was xxxx Love you all and thanks for being so awesome..without you I am nothing..so keep being you xx Love and hugs and gratitude..xx Gabby