Kids+ are delighted to announce that the 2024 recipient of the Donna Shaw ‘Spirit of Kids+ Award’ is Stephen Jewson of Jan Juc SLSC.

Each year, Kids+ recognise a member or group in the community who has made a significant voluntary contribution on the foundation. For 2024, that is Stephen Jewson and the volunteers of the Jan Juc SLSC, who, each year, donate their time to support the Kids+ Surf Ed program.

Jewson, who has been part of the Jan Juc SLSC since 1989, has, alongside dedicated volunteers, been instrumental in bringing the Kids+ Surf Ed program to life, making positive impacts on the lives of children and young people with disabilities. The week-long Surf Ed program, which has been running for 8 years, offers an opportunity for children with disabilities to experience the beach, the ocean, time on a surfboard, and even a trip on a jet ski – activities they would typically not experience due to accessibility barriers.

The Kids+ Surf Ed program takes place in January at Fisherman’s Beach, Torquay, and is also supported by the teams at Torquay Angling Club, Torquay Marine Rescue Services, and Go Ride a Wave.

The Award is named after Donna Shaw who was a long-standing Kids+ Director and advocate for young people with disabilities.

The formidable Jake Richardson is the first recipient of the Kids+ education/employment scholarship . The scholarship has helped to provide Jake with two-day a week employment at Bellarine Secondary College for 12 months.. Read Jake’s incredible story below, as told by his mother and biggest fan, Jaime Richardson.

Kids+ is a partner on 5-year NHMRC Partnership Project Grant for the research project “Linking young people with disability to participation through cycling: implementation and evaluation of the co-designed CycLink program" led by Dr Rachel Toovey from the University of Melbourne.

The Kids+ Kites Festival is a free Geelong based event designed to promote a sense of belonging and social and community connection by bringing together people of all abilities for a fun, accessible, and inclusive day.

Kite Festival 2024 will take place on Sunday 6th October at Rippleside Park.

Kids+ is excited to share that our first article about the Kids+ Parent Infant Program has been published in Frontiers in Pediatrics and can be freely accessed here.

The Kids+ Parent Infant Program was developed by Sarah Foley and Kelly Reynolds during their time at Kids+. The publication is co-authored by Sarah, Kelly, Kids+ Kids+ Research Coordinator Dr Anna Urbanowicz, and Dr Margaret Mayston. The Kids+ Parent Infant Program pioneered community-based development supports for families and their infants in Geelong and the Barwon Region, Victoria.

The article outlines the unique elements of the Kids+ Parent Infant Program, which includes a coordinated transition from hospital to home, and holistic support for infants who require developmental support. The article also includes directions for future program development and research.

The annual Kids+ Fundraising Luncheon is a community event, bringing together people from across the region for an afternoon of food, drinks and entertainment, to connect with each other and support the work of Kids+.

Tickets on sale July.

Kids+ Physiotherapist, Louise Daniels, was recently a guest of the Stroke Foundation’s ‘Childhood Stroke’ Podcast discussing the engagement of young children in sports after stroke. Louise was joined Tony Peacock who is the parent of Kids+ participant, Georgia, who had a stroke. Tony is also a member of Stroke Foundation's Lived Experience Advisory Group. Also on the guest panel was Dr Olivia Lee, a paediatric rehabilitation consultant who supports families and children to become involved in sports after childhood stroke.

The 2024 Surf Coast Trek is set to break its fundraising records with over 1,200 trekkers signing up for the event held on Saturday 13 April 2024. This is the highest number of participants in its nine-year history.

Enjoying perfect weather conditions, trekkers made their way through the Ironbark Basin, across stunning exposed cliff tops, across long sandy beaches all with sweeping ocean views towards the festival-style finish line at Elephant Walk, Torquay. This year the finish line attracted plenty of local attention, providing food, drinks, music, and kids entertainment which was made even more enticing with the sunshine.

The Surf Coast Trek is the largest fundraising event each year for Kids+ and the Give Where You Live Foundation, supporting the vital services they provide to the Geelong region.

Kids+ are delighted to award the annual Donna Shaw ‘Spirit of Kids+ Award’ to Kim and Paul Johnson!

The Johnsons have been part of the Kids+ family for over 20 years, since their daughter Abby was 3 years of age. Kim and Paul were instrumental in sparking the original concept of Kids+, along with a small group of other families.

Kim was a Kids+ Board Director and has supported Kids+ to engage with a number of philanthropic partners, ensuring donors have a better and more informed understanding of disability and lived experience. A lifelong advocate, Kim has advocated within her local community for greater accessibility and inclusion. Kim has also volunteered her time making toys and resources that are shared with other Kids+ families.

For many years Paul has used his engineering skills to repair Kids+ and client equipment, and he regularly volunteers his time to keep our centre’s gardens and grounds looking great.

Kim and Paul have been unwavering supporters of Kids+ in so many ways over the past 20 years. We are grateful for their wonderful support, generosity and friendship.

Kids+ Snow Camp 2023. at Falls Snow resort. in partnership with Disabled Winter Sports.

The Surf Coast Trek is a fundraising challenge, offering the unique opportunity to walk 40km or 26km along the spectacular Victorian Surf Coast, taking in spectacular scenery in a supported, community-centric environment.

On February 18, 2023, Cameron Young, Geelong father of one year old twins Iggy & Vance, ran a solo marathon while pushing his son Iggy, raising $78,300 for Kids+

The Kids+ Ladies Lunch, which takes places on Grand Final Eve, is an inclusive celebration of community, bringing together women from across the region for an afternoon of food, drinks, and music, to connect and support Kids+

Our Kite Festival is designed to be a fully inclusive, accessible event, where people of all ages, stages, and abilities can come and fly a kite

Kids+ are delighted to provide an update on an ongoing research project which is funded by the Anthony Costa Foundation, Geelong Community Foundation and Percy Baxter Charitable Trust.

Kids+ was delighted to hear the news that Sarah Foley, one of the co-founders of Kids+, was awarded an OAM at the recent 2023 Australia Day honours. Sarah is the most deserving of recipients.

Sarah has made an outstanding contribution supporting families and young people across the Greater Geelong region, and to the field of paediatric physiotherapy in general. She has spent the vast majority of her career working with, and alongside, young people with cerebral palsy and their families.

Janine Nichols and Jenny Flanders are awarded the Donna Shaw ‘Spirit of Kids+’ Award for 2022 at the Kids+ End of Year Event in Geelong in December 2022.

Changemakers Kids+ Conference 2023 is an opportunity for people within the disability community to come together, share ideas, make connections, and build collaborative networks to drive social change at RACV Torquay Victoria Australia.

Sunday 2nd October 2022 saw the sky at Rippleside Park painted in colour when over 1,000 members of the community came together to celebrate inclusivity.

The Regional Parenting Service collates parenting activities in the Geelong and Barwon South Western Region.