BUSHkids Annual Report 2019-20

ANNUAL REPORT 2019–2020 TOPIC SECTION 15 This year took an unexpected turn at the end of summer with the appearance of the COVID-19 virus and, again, Birdie and his friend Froggy came to the rescue to support children, families and communities. The book Birdie and the Big Sickness was used to help families discuss COVID-19 as we awaited development of the new Birdie and the Virus . A BUSHkids Facebook post at the start of the pandemic reiterated the value of using children’s stories to engage in conversations about dealing with such difficult situations. Many of our Centres also provided Virtual Storytime sessions based on Birdie and the Big Sickness and Birdie and the Virus with the key goal being to empower parents and carers in supporting their children through these challenging uncertainties. Our CPSS and CAHS teams ensured that all local kindergartens, childcare centres and libraries had copies of these books, and reminded them of BUSHkids’ continued service availability, community engagement and that everyone also knew of the wonderful online play-based support for children and parents at Children’s Health . Birdie’s back! Last year’s Annual Report highlighted how BUSHkids CPSS teams distributed Birdie and The Big Drought books to families in the Agnes Water, Kingaroy and Stanthorpe regions who had been significantly impacted by drought. Then Birdie and the Big Fire came to the aid of families when Stanthorpe was under threat by large bushfires in the build-up to 2019-20’s ‘Black Summer’ of fires. BIRDIE BOOKS BIRDIE AND THE VIRUS

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