When Kylie and Brad held him for the first time, they whispered the same promise they had spoken over every foster child who came through their door:
“You are safe. You are cared for. And we will fight for you.”
And fight they did. Night after night, they rocked him gently to sleep. They measured out bottles with trembling hands. They took public transport daily back and forth from the hospital to visit, and whispered comfort into his little ears. Each and every single day.
Slowly, miraculously, Noah began to thrive. He started to smile. To babble, to roll across the floor. And with every giggle, Kylie and Brad’s hearts swelled with him.
Every miracle is powered by families like Kylie and Brad, and by donors like you. Donors who make it possible for foster children to thrive, not just survive.
Noah’s future is still uncertain. He may not grow up in Kylie and Brad’s home forever. What they can give him right now is love, safety, and the belief that he matters
And that is exactly what your generosity makes possible, not only for baby Noah, but for every child who finds their way into foster care. Foster carers like Kylie and Brad can’t do this alone.
Love is powerful. But love alone isn’t enough.
Foster carers pour their hearts into children, but love doesn’t buy nappies or formula. It doesn’t cover school uniforms, camp fees or Christmas presents that help a child feel like they truly belong.
That’s where you step in.
Your generosity is what fills the cupboards with food, is what puts a backpack on a child’s shoulders on their first day of school, and is what ensures that on Christmas morning, there’s a gift waiting when their name on it (presumably from Santa).
Your gift today tells children like Noah: You matter.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$80
helps these families afford supplementary school supplies like runners, sports uniforms or sports clubs, so that no foster child ever feels left out or “different from the others”
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$100
provides for supplies or essentials for foster babies like Noah.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$250
can send a foster child to camp so they can laugh, play and belong.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$500
supports family visits to the zoo, birthday and Christmas gifts, so no foster child feels left out, allowing for families like Kylie and Brad’s to say YES the next time their phone rings.
Brad? Not so much at the beginning.
He admitted he once said: “I only want my own kids.”
But something happened after their first placement. His heart softened. Today he’s the first one to get on the floor to play blocks, the one who insists on reading bedtime stories, the guy cheering at the side of the sports field.
Together with their two teenage daughters, Kylie and Brad have since welcomed more than 30 children into their home.
Some arrived with nothing more than a plastic bag of clothes. Some came in the middle of the night. Some stayed for years. Some only a few days.
But every single one was loved like family.
Kylie says: “Some kids arrive with nothing but the clothes on their back. Our job is to make sure that from the moment they walk in, they know they’re safe, wanted, and cared for.”
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$80
helps these families afford supplementary school supplies like runners, sports uniforms or sports clubs, so that no foster child ever feels left out or “different from the others”
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$100
provides for supplies or essentials for foster babies like Noah.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$250
can send a foster child to camp so they can laugh, play and belong.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$500
supports family visits to the zoo, birthday and Christmas gifts, so no foster child feels left out, allowing for families like Kylie and Brad’s to say YES the next time their phone rings.
Kylie and Brad were terrified.
“We’d never done anything like it before,” Brad remembers. “We thought, what if we make a mistake? What if we give him too much, or not enough?”
But they said yes.
Every few hours, day and night, they carefully measured drops of medicine. They held Joe close as his body trembled. They cried with him when he cried. They celebrated every small victory – every time he fed a little more, every time he slept a little longer.
Brad shared with us: “We just kept telling ourselves: this little boy deserves a chance.”
Weeks turned into months. Slowly, Joe’s body grew stronger. His cries softened. He began to smile. He started meeting milestones the doctors feared he might never reach.
Eventually, Joe was placed with a permanent family. He is now five years old, and living healthily, happy, surrounded by siblings who adore him.
Kylie and Brad still think of him often.
“Letting go is the hardest part,” Kylie admits. “You pour your heart into these little ones, and then one day, they leave. But you do it anyway. Because if you don’t say yes, who will?”
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$80
helps these families afford supplementary school supplies like runners, sports uniforms or sports clubs, so that no foster child ever feels left out or “different from the others”
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$100
provides for supplies or essentials for foster babies like Noah.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$250
can send a foster child to camp so they can laugh, play and belong.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$500
supports family visits to the zoo, birthday and Christmas gifts, so no foster child feels left out, allowing for families like Kylie and Brad’s to say YES the next time their phone rings.
“She was so unsure of herself. She didn’t believe she had any future.”
But in Kylie and Brad’s home, Shannon experienced something she had never experienced before: steady encouragement, consistent care, and someone who believed in her. They read with her every night. They told her she was smart, capable, and loved.
At first, she shrugged it off. But slowly, she began to believe them.
A year later, Shannon stood in front of her entire school and gave a speech. For a girl who once barely spoke above a whisper, it was an extraordinary moment.
That day, her classmates elected her vice-captain.
Kylie and Brad sat in the crowd, tears streaming down their faces.
Today, Shannon talks about going to university. She has ambition. She has confidence. She has hope. She has a future.
This is what foster care can do: turn despair into possibility.
Kylie recollected: “When she stood up on that stage, tears couldn’t stop flowing from our cheeks. She believed in herself, maybe for the very first time. And we got to witness it.”
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$80
helps these families afford supplementary school supplies like runners, sports uniforms or sports clubs, so that no foster child ever feels left out or “different from the others”
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$100
provides for supplies or essentials for foster babies like Noah.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$250
can send a foster child to camp so they can laugh, play and belong.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$500
supports family visits to the zoo, birthday and Christmas gifts, so no foster child feels left out, allowing for families like Kylie and Brad’s to say YES the next time their phone rings.
But here’s the truth: Kylie and Brad can’t do this alone.
Foster families aren’t reimbursed for the “extras” that help children feel included and fully integrated into the family. The school uniforms. The sports fees. The holiday camps. The birthday presents.
Kylie says: “Love is what makes the difference. But love alone isn’t enough. Kids need to feel like they belong, and that takes support.”
The unconditional love given by foster families opens doors, but it’s generosity that fills the cupboards with nappies and formula, that buys the uniforms so kids don’t stand out, that pays for camp so children can join their classmates.
And it’s generosity that helps children like Noah thrive.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$80
helps these families afford supplementary school supplies like runners, sports uniforms or sports clubs, so that no foster child ever feels left out or “different from the others”
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$100
provides for supplies or essentials for foster babies like Noah.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$250
can send a foster child to camp so they can laugh, play and belong.
Supporting our foster carers through your gift of
$500
supports family visits to the zoo, birthday and Christmas gifts, so no foster child feels left out, allowing for families like Kylie and Brad’s to say YES the next time their phone rings.
What You Can Do to Help
Kylie and Brad have given everything. Their home, their hearts, their energy, to children who need them most.
This Christmas, you can stand beside foster carers like Kylie and Brad. Families who have already given everything, yet keep saying yes to the most vulnerable children.
Your gift today provides the practical support that makes love possible.
Every child deserves to feel safe. Every child deserves to feel loved. And every child deserves the chance to grow up believing they matter.
