Olivia’s Place is a Drouin-based charity that is dedicated to supporting new families. They provide assistance from pregnancy, early parenting and up until the youngest child’s first birthday. In 2023, they provided services to over 200 Gippsland families and distributed more than $130,000 in material aid.
Olivia’s Place was established in 2012 by Kirsten Finger and Melissa Raymond. Both of these women were new mothers and were experiencing the challenges of learning to be parents. While maternal child health nurses were able to provide help with medical issues, they found that there was a gap in local services.
“There was nobody to help you with things like, what happens if things don’t go as planned? How do you manage feeding a baby at 3:00am? What do we do as new parents?” said Pheba Daniel, the current Operating Director of Olivia’s Place.
After realising there was a widespread need for this kind of support, Kirsten and Melissa stepped in to help their community and founded the organisation.
Now, Olivia’s Place supports a range of parents and families, who need different kinds of assistance for different reasons. Many are experiencing financial strain and unemployment in the current economic climate. Others are unfortunately impacted by family violence or poor mental health.
They provide practical, material and emotional support to families who are struggling and help link them to the services they need.
Olivia’s Place is currently accepting donations from the community of capsules, bassinets, disposable nappy bags, and cots to fill the needs of their current network of families.
“We constantly receive testimonials about how Olivia’s Place has been a lifeline providing those much-needed items,” Pheba said.
“Support from our community is invaluable to our mission to further serve Gippsland families,” she said.
As the current financial crisis continues to impact the lives of Victorians, the need for support is rising, meaning Olivia’s Place has to balance supporting their current families while accepting the new ones who reach out. While they are based in Drouin, a significant number of their families are based in Latrobe Valley.
While Olivia’s Place is grateful for the donations they receive, they also welcome and encourage those who want to volunteer.
The organisation has very few paid staff, so they consider volunteers to be the heart of Olivia’s Place. They greatly appreciate their dedication, compassion and hard work.
“Olivia’s Place is always looking for additional volunteers to help organise donations,” she said. There are office positions for those who have experience in finance, administration or events management, or help is needed to organise donations and clean material aid before it can be rehomed to their clients.
“We have space for everyone at Olivia’s Place and would love for people to use their current skill set and see how you can help today. Please call Olivia’s Place if you’d like to volunteer with us,” she said.
At the organisation, all staff and volunteers have access to professional training specific to their role at Olivia’s Place.
Olivia’s Place wants to and has the means to help those who are struggling or just need some extra support. If this sounds like you, they encourage you to reach out.
“If you are pregnant or going through the early stages of pregnancy and finding that experience challenging, you don’t need to go through this alone,” Pheba said.
“Olivia’s Place would love for the opportunity to be there to walk alongside you and provide you with the support you need and want. We understand that this is difficult, but together let’s build a village to support your family to thrive,” she said.
You can connect with Olivia’s Place at oliviasplace.org.au or call (03) 5622 1022.
Editor’s Note: By the time of publication, Olivia’s Place’s annual Charity Gala Dinner and Auction will have already been held on August 31. The event is their primary fundraiser. We hope that this event is a massive success and that the generosity of their supporters will lead to continued support for families in Gippsland. We will provide an update on the success of the gala in our October Issue.
