November 2024 Auckland South Caregiver News

Kia ora koutou katoa,

Well, what a whirlwind of a year it has been. We have had Summer in Winter and Winter in Spring – it seems even mother earth is feeling out of sorts.

I wanted to acknowledge the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) coordinators in our region. Pat, Anne, Shirley, Jen and Jacqui, the awhi and aroha you extend to your GRG friends is humbling. I am so grateful to be able to connect with your groups and feel the love. You remind me of the importance of playfulness and that being playful is vital to helping heal our children. Below is a photo of me fighting the Guardians of the Universe. If it isn’t obvious, I’m the bad guy and my mokos are the heroes.

TRAINING

Our training schedule for the remainder of the year is available now through our website or you can click on the button below. If you have never attended an online workshop and are worried about the technical side, you can call our national office, and we will run through the “how to Teams” with us.  This will save you a lot of time and stress before the actual workshop.

Events

Registrations are open now for our annual Family Fun Days. Please click on the link to register or find out more. If you see an event elsewhere and you will be in that region on that date, you can register to attend. Tickets are limited, so please be sure when registering that you will be attending.

Support

Hamilton Support Group – Wednesday 6 November
10am, The Punnet Cafe, Tamahere
Vanessa West, our Regional Committee Member, is looking forward to welcoming new members, and catching up with existing group members. No bookings required, just rock on up and tell the super-helpful staff that you’re with Caring Families Aotearoa, and they’ll point you in the right direction. More details below.

Haere Mai, nau mai! Are you in/near Hamilton?
Want to chat with some like-minded caregivers who will lift you up?
Are you free the first Wednesday of the month from 10am? Want a free coffee?
If you have answered “YES” to these questions and want to join an understanding group that knows just what being a Foster Caregiver IS – then come along!
On the first Wednesday of the month (excluding school holidays), from 10am, Vanessa hosts a small, but lively Support Group at Punnet Café in Tamahere.

It’s here in a no-judgement, supportive, environment where we all “get it”, we can share stories, and coffee, commiserating and celebrating the trials and tribulations of Foster Caregiving in the Waikato.

We will be welcoming a special guest to our November session, Nyvonne, to chat to us about creating Life Stories/Memory Keepers for our fosters. These might well make great Christmas gifts, and will likely be treasured for years to come.

Morrinsville Support Group

If you live in the area and would like to meet with other caregivers, call Susan on 027 737 7404.

If you would like to start a support group in your region, please call us on 0800 693 323 and we can talk you through the process, or you can click here to find more information.

Facebook Groups
Auckland South members-only closed Facebook group: If you’re a bit shy but would still like to connect, click here and join up. The more the merrier!

Waikato/Hauraki members-only closed Facebook group: If you would like to open your support network from home, try our group. We have some amazing caregivers on there that enjoy connecting online. Click here to join!