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 since 2007, 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.
ANA KOCH
Director
Ana has had an international executive career across both legal advice and complex commercial supply chain management to some of the world’s largest companies and trading houses.
Ana is now a Principal at Iridium Capital, a family office managing assets in a wide range of sectors, across equity, debt, venture capital and late-stage growth. Ana is also the founder of her own photography business, Ana Koch Photography, specialising in street, portraiture and beach photography.
Ana is passionate about education, women's issues and the arts and supports these issues through her and her husband's foundation, the Ana and Christopher Koch Foundation Fund.
DENIS FISK
Director
Denis is a highly credentialled corporate business and marketing strategist with over 20 years global experience. Denis’ expertise spans a range of industry sectors, which most recently includes health and wellness.
For over 8 years Denis worked for international company, Transitions Optical with a focus on business development, education programs and marketing. This saw Denis undertake roles across the globe including the United States and Asia Pacific. In his time at Transitions Optical, Denis also developed a new business organisational structure for the Indian market.
In 2014, Denis joined the TerryWhite Chemmart (Chemplus) group with a focus on marketing and business operations. Denis was instrumental in launching and managing the Chemplus Rewards Program and led the business development team.
Denis joined the Healthy Business Group as General Manager in 2018. Currently, Denis is responsible for the group’s business services structure, after acquiring this from TerryWhite Chemmart. He also manages the ongoing growth and profitability of the business services entity.
HEIDI CRAWFORD
Director
Working as General Counsel and Company Secretary of the CMV Group, Heidi brings a legal and governance lens and experience to The Village Co. board.
Heidi has a deep passion for giving back to the community, and plays a key role in driving community based initiatives at CMV, including establishing a corporate volunteering program and as Chair of the CMV Group Staff Foundation (SA).
As a Mum to three little boys(!), Heidi understands the support needed for any Mum to thrive during the life changing journey of motherhood, and is looking forward to building on the impact The Village Co. has had to continue to support mums who need it most.
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
This program was developed in response to the midwives observing women coming into to hospital to have a baby without essential items for herself and her new baby. Eligible vulnerable women in the perinatal period are gifted bags containing a range of essential items including nappies, wipes, baby clothes, breast pads, deodorant, sanitary pads, shampoo and conditioner and other items.
Self Love Program
This program was developed for vulnerable mums who are leaving hospital with empty arms due to miscarriage, stillbirth or the removal of their baby by the Department of Child Protection. These women are gifted with similar bags to the Welcoming Babe Program however the Self Love Program bags don’t contain baby care items.
Mama Milk Program
This program provides eligible vulnerable mums with manual breast pumps to assist them to establish and maintain breast milk supply. This in especially important when families may not have the money necessary to buy baby formula.
A Nourished Week
While gifting a new mother with a home-cooked meal can be one of the most helpful and heartwarming gifts, many new mothers do not have the village of people around them who can or will do this. This program provides eligible vulnerable mothers with a week’s worth of pre-made frozen meals (prepared by Chefs on Wheels).
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:
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Domestic violence
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Homelessness
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Mental health issues
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Drug use
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Minimal support (including those of Aboriginal descent or recent country transfer)
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Refugees
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Teenage mothers
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Significant financial strain
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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.