Support a Baby, Build a Family!

Welcome to All our new supporters!
And to our pre-exsisting supporters thank you for sticking with us through this difficult time!
We cannot thank you enough. <3 

Since our last heartbreaking announcement in December, we are so grateful to be able to tell you that there is hope on the horizon for TLC! After gratefully receiving much assistance in servicing our debt as well as many new pledges of support through our monthly giving Adopt-A-Cot campaign we have now officially moved the benchmark for re-evaluating the threat of TLC's closure to the end of 2019! While we are not fully in the clear we are hopeful that with the help of our amazing supporters we will be able to secure the sustainable funding needed to keep us going for as long as there are babies that need our services. <3

We often get asked why it costs TLC so much to care for a baby every month. This is our answer:

While this figure may seem exorbitant for one child, especially in comparison to a regular family environment, we have many costs associated with providing 24 hour, quality care for each child in our home which we have averaged out between the children to make up this figure. To give you some insight I will elaborate on the detail of these costs below =) 

Please bear in mind these costs were significantly lower even just a few years ago. With the ever increasing cost of living in SA many of the following costs have dramatically increased over the past few years: 24 hour care (caregivers and teachers), an onsite social worker, support staff to ensure our facility runs smoothly (cleaning, cooking, grounds and maintenance), logistical expenses (drivers, vehicle services and maintenance, fuel for school runs, grocery runs, taking children to court, taking children for their vaccinations or therapy, occasional outings, collecting donations, etc.), consumable expenses (formula, nappies, food, juice, wetwipes, toiletries, cleaning products, household products, etc), medical expenses (medication, syringes, plasters, teething gels, nebulizers, apnoea mats, etc.) , therapy expenses (occupational, physio, speech, etc.), schooling equipment and fees (most of our children over 2years are schooled onsite, however we do have a few children in grade R and primary school which include special needs and remedial schools, pre-school), refuse collection, laundry maintenance (because of the high volume of laundry we do our machines need regular maintenance and repair), electricity bills, security bills, management and administrational costs. 

I hope this gives you a clearer understanding. Also, please know we are audited by the DSD regularly and had an extensive private audit done last year. We are committed to transparency and handling our funds responsibly. 

On an more behind the scenes note, on the 9th of February, we had our AGM at which we had a few fresh new faces join our board of trustees. We acknowledge there is a lot of growth and change on our horizon and we need some expert help! With their guidance we are very excited to see how we are able to serve the vulnerable babies of our community better, providing we are granted the grace to continue. We know with this strong complement of professionals our leadership is in a strong position to help us navigate whatever this year brings our way.  

Once again, from the entire TLC Team (all the babies and children included), we Thank You sincerely for your love and dedication in supporting our home. We really could not provide the loving care to these little ones without your support. You make all the difference in ensuring we can be the safe space these little ones can thrive in while we look for their forever families. <3 

We appreciate you more than we can ever express!

As always if there are any questions, comments or suggestions please don't hesitate to get in touch.

With Sincere Gratitude and
Kind Regards,
Faith Abrahams
Communications Manager.

Links:

• Website
• Facebook
• Twitter

Dear friends and incredible supporters of TLC.

It is with great sadness that we communicate that TLC will come to an end, unless there is dramatic intervention. After 25 years of dedicated, passionate advocacy for the right of every baby to a family, it is our privilege to know that over 900 babies never needed to know the horror of lifelong institutional care.

Many of you have followed our challenges over the last few years but here are a few of the big ones that each added their own weight to the problem:

• Insufficient income. Despite our best efforts to create a financially stable institution, the costs increased faster than we could cover with donations. The lack of proper State support and the rejection of our R4 million lotto application at the very last hurdle was a huge set back.
• The increasingly hostile attitude of politicians around the world toward adoption and the increasing incapacity of State Social Service structures has increased the average length of stay for children at TLC from 6 months to between 25 and 33 months. This has a huge impact on the investment needed to maintain the high quality of care for the 36 children at TLC.
• Sadly, the proverbial straw that broke the camels back is the damaged relationship between TLC’s founder, Thea Jarvis and the rest of the management team at TLC.

Our current situation is that we are about US$ 72,000 (R1 million) in debt, with costs piling up daily, as we are US$ 26,000 (R350,000) short every month of what we need to cover our costs.

To even open the conversation of the child and youth care centre remaining operational, we need to pay off our debts of roughly US$ 72,000, and secure committed, reliable funding of US$ 26,000 a month (which equates to 3,500 adopted cots, please see attachments). You can donate today and get your donation matched by GlobalGiving, for Giving Tuesday.

Should we not receive this funding, we will bring TLC to a close in 6 months, which gives us time to facilitate the responsible closure of operations to ensure the best available outcome for each baby and staff member currently at TLC. 

We will keep you updated with the way forward as we walk this slow and painful path. Thank you for walking it with us.

Pippa Jarvis

Links:

• Donate today