For families in rural New South Wales, distance can quietly close doors. When programs are delivered online, a patchy internet connection or the cost of getting online can be enough to leave a family behind.
Emma* knows that gap well. A young single mother of two living in a rural community, she often felt isolated and unsure how to support her four-year-old daughter’s learning at home. She had wanted to join early learning programs before, but most relied on the internet. Without a reliable connection, they simply weren’t an option.
Then she heard about the School Ready Program through her local preschool.
Delivered by Young Minds Thrive, a grassroots charity backed by one of Mary MacKillop Today’s Community Grants, the program arrives as something refreshingly simple: a physical resource box. Inside are quality early learning materials and a structured, hard-copy program a family can follow at the kitchen table, no internet required.
For Emma, that box changed the rhythm of her week. Each day, she and her daughter worked through hands-on activities together. Her daughter grew more and more excited to take part, and before long her younger child was joining in too, turning learning into a shared family routine rather than one more thing to manage alone.
The box held more than activities. Developmental screening helped Emma see her daughter’s strengths and weaknesses clearly and, for the first time, gave her the language and confidence to raise her questions with a GP. That conversation led to a referral to allied health and early intervention services, support that might otherwise have taken years to reach her.
The ripples reached the preschool, too. Emma began sharing what was working at home, opening up stronger conversations with her daughter’s educators and helped align the way learning happened in both places.
None of this was about a family that needed fixing. It was about removing the barriers that stood in the way and trusting a mother who knew her children best. Given the right tools, Emma built skills and confidence she now carries on her own, for both her children and the years ahead.
It is a small story, and a powerful one: proof of what becomes possible when we back community-led ideas and meet families where they are.
Across just two years, the School Ready Program has supported more than 1,000 children across the Mid-North Coast, one resource box, one kitchen table, one confident parent at a time.
You can help more community-led ideas take root. Support Mary MacKillop Today’s Community Grants.
*Name changed to protect the family’s privacy.
