A message from Northcott Chairman, Michael Briggs, and Northcott CEO, Liz Forsyth
Another eventful year for Northcott, where we faced external challenges head on, built strong new partnerships to grow our impact and put in place the foundations for a strong future to support our work owards an inclusive society.
As a business providing essential services to children and adults with disability and their families, COVID-19 has continued to impact Northcott extensively. Our centre-based services remained open, sometimes just for one participant. We also gave people the option to join their service virtually or to access one-on-one support at home. It was pleasing to see 72% of respondents in our customer survey tell us they felt supported by Northcott during this time – recognition of the hard work put in by our staff. You can read some of the great outcomes achieved in this Impact Report.
Our Community
Thank you for empowering children with disability to learn more than words
Sapana’s 7-year-old son Aahan was diagnosed with level 3 autism when he was almost 3 years old. Although he has a good level of understanding, Aahan doesn’t use speech to communicate, and he and his family struggled to find ways to communicate and interact with each other at home.
Thank you for being the heart of our community
We are grateful for funding support from The Broinowski Foundation and a community grant from CommBank Staff Foundation which assisted Northcott to deliver high-quality support to 66 teenagers with disability and purchase the resources, equipment and games to enliven our Skills 4 Life program.
Thank you for enabling loads of fun holiday activities and more
With help from a Jemena community grant, Northcott’s Campbelltown team purchased new equipment and resources for young adults to use during vacation care. A greater variety and extra actile activities mean individual needs and talents are being nurtured with the right resources.
Teens and primary-school aged children appreciated the new sensory items, toys, and games. The new equipment is supporting children to build their skills and learn new things all while having lots of fun! The arts and craft resources introduced some children to painting for the first time. They enjoyed taking their fabulous creations home to share with family and friends.
BRIGHTER & BETTER!
Donations from our generous supporters and grants from the NSW Government Community Building Partnership Program, the James N. Kirby Foundation and West Tamworth Leagues Club have helped Northcott upgrade some areas with new furniture and resources and include hearing loops. Hearing loops allow more people to hear, engage and interact during training and workshops. They have improved the accessibility of our service locations for current and future participants with hearing loss and impairment.
“One young adult with hearing loss smiled widely as he could hear me clearly for the first time after the hearing loop was installed. I was able to have more of an extended conversation with him and he is now participating in all group conversation.” – Vicki, Service Coordinator
Thank you for supporting young people with disability to build work readiness
Using a grant from Citi Foundation, Northcott’s Community Engagement Officer, Josh has built connections with businesses and developed work experience placements and paid employment opportunities for our Vocational Skills participants aged 17-24 years. Josh has also identified sectors impacted by skills and labour shortages where there is the potential for people with disability to fill employment gaps.
Andrew’s journey with Northcott
Andrew joined Northcott as a member of the Customer Service Enquiries Team in 2019, however his relationship with Northcott started well before this. When he was 3 years old, Andrew and his family started accessing Northcott’s therapy services in Parramatta.
Andrew is an avid self-advocate who his friends describe as driven and quick to help others. He is also passionate about fitness and building a strong mindset, which, along with his competitive sprit in sports, is something he credits to Northcott. “My earliest memories are participating in Northcott athletics and swimming carnivals. They’re a great opportunity to meet other people with disability and make friends. That’s the first thing that tied me to Northcott,” says Andrew.
“Carnivals are lots of fun and pretty competitive and there were some talented athletes from other schools. Although I was always determined to win, I also learnt how to handle losing. As a person with disability, I don’t think I would’ve achieved what I have if I hadn’t learnt to be competitive through the carnivals. I always want to achieve my goal, have a go at new things and refuse to hear that I can’t.”
Committed to his community
Meon Nehrybecki, Principal Dealer at Northcott’s corporate partner Terry Shields Toyota Parramatta, shares our vision of a more inclusive society for all. He’s committed to seeing his business become an even bigger and better supporter of Northcott.
When Meon became the Principal Dealer at Terry Shields Toyota in July 2021, he wasn’t aware of the services and supports provided by Northcott. It wasn’t long however, before the long association between Northcott and Terry Shields Toyota caught his attention.
Thank you for taking part in our Donor Survey
We would like to thank you for taking the time to respond to our Donor Survey. We love hearing from you and are grateful for your feedback which will allow us to tailor our communications to suit you.
“Yes, newsletters are comprehensive and well laid out. They provide a good summary of activities and information.” – David.
“Your communication is very effective, I’ve seen your magazines, reports on how Northcott is always using the latest technology, to help people with disability communicate with others in their daily lives.” – Roslyn.
“Keep up the great work! I’m happy to be a regular donor. I love the support you give to the community (particularly events like supporting the clients to take part in the Mardi Gras parade).” – Michael.
“The team at Northcott do a fantastic job and we love being involved in the business.” – Kylie.
