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Give the gift of imagination this Christmas - and help keep kids safe, heal from trauma and lead happy lives.
Christmas is a season that calls upon people to use their imagination. Many of us have the ability to imagine what the North Pole looks like. We can imagine elves working in Santa’s workshop, making presents, and packing them into Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve, before 9 reindeers fly him around the globe in a single night delivering presents to children all across the world. Our imagination is something we often take for granted. Brain development in children is directly linked to social and emotional experiences. When children are abused or exposed to trauma, most of them will experience a range of cognitive brain developmental issues. The lack of meaningful engagement they received as a child, and the trauma they experience, can hinder their brains from fully developing. These children simply cannot ‘imagine’ or ‘create’ things in their mind. With your support, Act for Kids can help. Our early childhood intervention, care and therapy all play a critical role in supporting and healing the minds of traumatised children. This Christmas, Act for Kids are asking for support by encouraging people to purchase toys from their Imaginary Toy Store. All funds raised will support Act for Kids’ Integrated Therapy Service, and will go towards providing services to kids that need help to heal from the trauma of abuse and neglect. Kids like Chloe.
*Names in this story have been changed to protect the privacy of the child. 1
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2021. Child protection Australia 2019–20. Child welfare series no. 74. Cat. no. CWS 78. Canberra: AIHW.
486,280
Last year, reports were made to child protection authorities in Australia.1
Meet Chloe * 8-year-old Chloe was forced to live out of cars and under bridges for most of her young life. Neglected by her parents, Chloe was often left in the care of strangers for significant periods of time. She was sexually abused on many of these occasions, and had a history of not attending school for lengthy periods of time. Chloe suffered serious burns at the age of 6 when she fell into a campfire while she was drunk and left unattended while the adults she was with were using illicit substances. As a result of this incident, Chloe was removed from the care of her parents. Chloe was put in a number of out-of-home care placements, but most of them broke down in short timeframes, with carers citing Chloe’s sexualised and violent behaviours as the reason. Six months ago, Chloe went to live with carers Jim and Nancy – who brought Chloe to see the team at Act for Kids. The impact of Chloe’s trauma had caused delays to her cognitive brain development, which meant her ability to be creative, or imaginative was very minimal. Chloe joined our Integrated Therapy Service – and it was recommended that she begin seeing a play therapist, because she was difficult to connect or attach to, and would often become aggressive whenever her carers tried to engage or interact with her in an age appropriate manner. Chloe has been attending Theraplay sessions at Act for Kids. Chloe also attends a music therapy program twice each week. Initially, Chloe was resistant to attending the sessions. However, with structure, engagement and nurture being the focus areas of her therapy, Chloe began engaging with a drummer and guitarist in the music program. She is now able to verbally express her distress and anger at the perpetrators of her abuse and neglect, and has started to demonstrate interactions and appropriate positive affections towards her carers. Chloe is still very resistant to engaging with a cognitive behavioural therapist, but is progressing well. Chloe has started to make some friends at school and will now talk to her teachers. Chloe is only able to attend school until lunchtime, but with more treatment, she has a good prospect of attending school full-time in the next 3 months. Chloe is no longer displaying sexualised behaviours towards her carers or peers, and has agreed to engage with a program at school to support having strategies to regulate her emotions. Our integrated approach towards helping Chloe to heal, has allowed Chloe to begin to participate in age appropriate activities like singing, dancing, painting and playing. Her imagination is slowly being activated, and she is getting physically and emotionally stronger every day.
Last year, over 174,700 children accessed child protective services. That’s 1 in every 32 Aussie kids!
Last year, Act for Kids helped
40,434 people. 25,997 of them were kids.
Toy Catalogue Help us support a child’s Right to Imagine A child’s imagination is a pure and precious place. It’s why every dollar you spend in The Imaginary Toy Store goes towards Act for Kids’ Integrated Therapy Service — providing therapy services to kids who need help healing from the trauma they’ve experienced due to suffering abuse and neglect. Because every child should have the Right to Imagine.
Koko the Koala
Koala Soft toys are often used in therapy for role play.
ka Fire Truck a Racing Car
Kids use toys to share a story that they may feel embarrassed or ashamed to tell their therapist about.
$10
Hoppy
Bunny
Flynn
$20
El Pompey
Maraca Maracas are used in music therapy to help kids find their rhythm.
$30
Baby Doll
Douggy
Baby dolls are used in therapy to explore trauma narratives. They help kids to express their feelings through role play and storytelling.
$30
Playing with blocks helps children develop their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness and reasoning. They can also help with language (naming colours) and practicing social skills – like turn-taking with their Speech Pathologist.
Soft toys are a great therapeutic tool to help kids settle into new environments and feel safe.
$20
Plastic Brick
Rhythm is a powerful regulator in therapy. Therapists use music and rhythmic repetition with kids as a tool for calming down.
Toy Puppy Therapists use toy animals to act out social stories, which help kids to develop understanding, empathy and care for other creatures.
$40
Please note: The Imaginary Toy Store is not a toy drive, so please do not send us toys. Act for Kids invented the Imaginary Toy Store as a fundraiser to provide therapy services to children in need. The best way you can help is to purchase one of the imaginary toys below- by way of donation. Thanks for your support!
Rex
T-Rex Therapists choose dinosaurs as therapeutic tools to build rapport with kids who like to talk about their special interests. Kids remembering the dinosaur names builds memory strength and language skills.
$50
Poppy
Wise ol’ turtle
Double Decker
$200
Our therapists often use a range of animal toys in our therapy sessions. Kids use the animals as symbols in therapy to depict the people in their life.
$100
Teddy Bear
Kent
Teddy bears are used as a therapeutic tool to support bedtime routines.
$125
Turtle
Many children who have experienced trauma need help in establishing a night-time routine.
Double Decker Bus Toy vehicles teach kids about safety, build their fine motor skills as well as keeping them active and moving.
Ken Doll Dolls are used to build social stories and role play during therapy. Dolls can also help children learn social skills and develop empathy.
$150
Other amount
Colour Blocks Stacking rings helps kids develop fine motor skills, language (naming colours) and practice social skills – like turn taking with their Speech Pathologist.
FAQs Do I get an actual toy if I donate?
Is there a limit to how much I can donate?
No. The Imaginary Toy Store exists to support a child’s Right to Imagine. So, you won’t receive an actual, physical toy — because you’re helping to give the gift of imagination to children who have experienced trauma. Some abused children simply cannot ‘imagine’ or ‘create’ things in their mind. Early childhood intervention, care and therapy all play a critical role in supporting and healing the minds of traumatised children.
Absolutely not. You can select to purchase one (or more) of the imaginary toys in store, to the nominated, or accumulative total…. OR you can also select the ‘other amount’ button and nominate any amount you would like to give. Donations can be as little as $2 and go up to $50,000. All donations are tax deductable.
All donors will be able to download a digital token — enabling you to print your imaginary toy if you are gifting it to someone you love, or so you can share on your socials to further spread the Imaginary Toy Store message.
Where is my donation going? Every dollar raised will be contributed to Act for Kids’ Integrated Therapy Service – a program which helps children to heal from the trauma they have experienced because of the neglect and abuse they have suffered.
Can I make multiple donations? Yes, you can donate as many times as you’d like! Every time you donate, you’re helping to give the gift of imagination to a child who needs it most. A toy from the Imaginary Toy Store is the perfect gift for your loved ones if you’re struggling to shop this Christmas.
When do donations end? The Imaginary Toy Store will close its virtual doors on Friday, 31 December 2021. You can donate throughout the year to Act for Kids directly via the main website https://www.actforkids.com.au/donate
Is this a Toy Drive? Can I send you toys? No. This campaign is aimed at generating muchneeded funds to support Act for Kids’ Integrated Therapy Service. Every dollar generated through the Imaginary Toy Store will be used to provide abused Aussie kids with the therapy services they need to heal from trauma.
About Act for Kids Act for Kids is a for-purpose organisation that delivers evidence-based professional therapy and support services to children and families who have experienced, or are at risk of harm.
Established in 1988, we have helped over 300,000 children, young people and families at our 30 centres across Australia. Through prevention, treatment, research, education and advocacy, we are committed to help keep kids safe, heal from trauma and lead happy lives.
Child Abuse and Neglect – The Facts: Last year, over 480,000 reports were made to child protection authorities in Australia. Over 174,700 children accessed child protective services, and 48,886 children were confirmed to have suffered abuse or neglect. That’s 1 in every 32 Australian children.
Last year, Act for Kids helped
40,434 people, 25,997 of those were kids.
What is Act for Kids’ Integrated Therapy Service? Our Integrated Therapy Service (ITS) is a therapeutic service for children, young people, their families and/or carers who have behavioural, emotional and/or developmental difficulties due to trauma from abuse and neglect, or who are at risk of harm.
What we do: Our multidisciplinary Integrated Therapy teams work together and use their combined skills to look at different aspects of the development and general functioning of each child and their family, including the role of their relationships and experiences. We help children and young people to overcome their experiences and challenges through integrated therapy so they can reach their full potential. Our team of specialists work together to conduct a full assessment, develop a personal treatment plan and provide ongoing therapeutic support.
We help by: • Providing a safe place for children to express and process difficult thoughts and feelings. • Giving children the opportunity to explore the impact of their experiences. • Supporting children and young people to develop skills for managing difficult feelings. • Empowering parents/carers to help them deal with the child’s challenges.
What makes us different? We don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ approach; every person we work with receives a tailored support plan to help them reach their own goals. The Act for Kids Integrated Therapy teams work together and use their combined skills to look at different aspects of the development and general functioning of each child and their family, including the role of their relationships and experiences. Our unique multidisciplinary teams include psychologists, occupational and speech therapists, and other specialists who provide expert help.
Speech Therapy Speech Pathologists help with communication, language and speech skills. This includes how children and young people understand and use language, and the impact that any difficulties may have upon relationships, learning and emotional adjustment.
Occupational Therapy The aim of Occupational therapy is to enable children and young people to participate in the activities of everyday life that bring meaning and purpose to them. These include movement skills, play skills, and many of the skills needed for school readiness.
Psychological Services Psychologists assess and support children and families with concerns about general development and learning, social and emotional skills, behavioural difficulties and relationships. Child abuse and neglect is relational in nature, therefore, our interventions through the delivery of Integrated Therapy solutions are designed to include significant people in a child’s life, which, as previously mentioned, includes educators, carers, parents and extended family. By including significant people in the therapy process, we ensure that everyone works together to understand and meet the child/young person’s needs. We rely on the support of financial donations to deliver our Integrated Therapy Service to Aussie kids who need our help to heal from trauma. To support a child’s Right to Imagine, visit imaginarytoystore.com.au and purchase an imaginary toy. All funds raised will support our Integrated Therapy Service, and help kids to heal from trauma.
To see how your purchase from the Imaginary Toy Store helps abused Aussie kids, visit imaginarytoystore.com.au
Act for Kids is committed to protecting your privacy. For further information about how your details are used, view our privacy policy at www.actforkids.com.au/privacy-policy.