ABOUT US

 

The Village Co. has a dedicated Board of five women who have been integral in creating a meaningful network of sup- port for struggling mums experiencing hardship.

Our Board work to bring together a whole community of compassionate women and families across our state to gener- ously donate time, love and energy to support and empower new mums and help them to care for their babies.

STEPH MALAN
CEO and Managing Director

Midwife of 12 years, Steph, learnt very quickly after becoming a mum that it truly does take a village to raise a child. She was also painfully aware that many women do not have this kind of support network buoying them up in the early days of motherhood

Regularly caring for women arriving at the hospital to give birth with little-to-no support, let alone the abundance of essential supplies required to care for a newborn, meant Steph witnessed firsthand the heartbreak struggling women are regularly facing when leaving hospital with their precious new baby.

Compelled to make a difference in the lives of women in these devastating circumstances, Steph founded The Village Co. and every day works to bring together like-minded women to continue finding ways of supporting mums who need it most.

EMILY RHIND
Director

Emily Rhind is a seasoned Human Resources professional with almost 10 years’ experience in the oil & gas industry. She has undergraduate qualifications in Business, majoring in Human Resources and International Business, and postgraduate qualifications in Applied Law, majoring in Commercial Law. Emily started her career in Queensland before moving to Adelaide in 2017. She joined as a Director to help The Village Co movement grow and help create a village to care for women who need it the most.

STEPH RIDGE
Director

Stephanie Ridge brings broad experience having worked in a number of industries across Australia, including automotive manufacturing, resources (oil & gas) and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Her background includes a dual business & commerce degree in Human Resources and Business Law, and current postgraduate study in Business Analytics. Stephanie is passionate about all women being valued as part of a supportive and empowering village who want the best for them and their families. Joining TVC in 2018, Stephanie is excited by the growth and positive impact the Village is already having in the South Australian community and wishes to have it expand in the future.

JAYLEE COOPER
Director

Jaylee has worked in the Not For Profit sector for the past fifteen years. For her, working to support people and engaging with the community is not just a job; it is a passion- a passion to make a difference, to feel inspired and to inspire others to make that difference also.

Jaylees experience in the industry has been varied focusing on fundraising and event management, volunteer management, community and corporate engagement, marketing and PR.

Having worked in both small and large well known South Australian charities Jaylee has been exposed to the many sides of NFPs and has an understanding of the ongoing challenges they face, particularly in the area of funding.

In recent years, Jaylee has been responsible for the strategic management of income generation for Catherine House. This includes all areas of fundraising including, sponsorship, corporate partnerships, events and grants.

In addition to this she is a member of the Leadership Team at Catherine House. Working alongside the CEO and Director’s, Jaylee is responsible for the overall decision making and implementing our strategic plan across the organisation.

WHAT WE DO

 

The Village Co. team has put together a list of crucial items for new mums and their babies. This list of essen- tials is based on practical products necessary for mums to care for their newborns, and themselves, in the peri- natal period.

Through the generous donations of our supporters, and time given to collect and package these items, we gift special baby bags to families in need, beautifully wrapped with care and presented with encouragement and love. These bags don’t look or feel like charity. They contain all new and beautiful products to ensure these women can maintain hygiene but also feel pampered.

The bags are then distributed to services who specifi- cally care for vulnerable and at-risk perinatal women.

OUR PROGRAMS

Welcoming Babe Program

For eligible women in the perinatal period who have, or will have, their newborn baby in their care. These bags include essential items for mum and baby like nappies, wipes, baby clothes, breast pads, deodorant, sanitary pads, shampoo, conditioner and more.

Self Love Program

For eligible women in the perinatal period who will be unfortunately leaving hospital with empty arms, due to miscar- riage, stillbirth or the removal of their baby by the Department of Child Protection. These bags contain everything this woman requires, but without baby care items.

Mama Milk Program

In 2020, The Village Co. hopes to launch breastfeeding support kits. The key item in these kits are manual breast pumps to help new mums establish and maintain a breast milk supply for their baby, especially important when families may not have the money necessary to buy baby formula.

WHO WE SUPPORT

 

The Village Co. provide at-risk new mums experiencing hardship with a beautifully gifted bag of essential items, to help care for both themselves and their precious newborn.

We have worked to formulate specific criteria, based on our extensive experience in caring for women in the perinatal period, to identify the women we believe are most in need of the care and support we provide in these bags.

Common situations the women we support are experiencing include:

  • Domestic violence
  • Homelessness
  • Mental health issues
  • Drug use
  • Minimal support (including those of Aboriginal descent or recent country transfer)
  • Refugees
  • Teenage mothers
  • Significant financial strain
  • Aboriginal women facing adversity

The Village Co. bags are distributed amongst carefully chosen services across South Australia who support and care for women and families in need.

If your service would like to play a part in helping at-risk women by distributing our bags, please get in touch.

We currently provide bags to:

  • Flinders Medical Centre
  • Gawler Health Service
  • Helen Mayo House
  • Kapunda Hospital
  • Kangaroo Island Hospital
  • Lutheran Community Care (Outer Southern)
  • Lyell McEwin Hospital
  • MarionLIFE
  • Metropolitan Youth Health, North, West, South
  • Mt Barker Hospital
  • Women’s and Children’s Hospital
  • Victor Harbor Hospital