May 2022 saw us pilot our very first Selwyn Parenting Week for parents and caregivers across he region - hosting numerous in-person events across various Selwyn towns along with online workshops and webinars. Why Selwyn Parenting Week? The Selwyn region has grown exponentially over the past decade but our support agencies for families have not been able to keep up at the same pace. Parents and caregivers need as much ease of access to resources and support as possible, and whilst activities and events are on the increase, the need for empowering, educative and most importantly local resources is still very much needed. With our Selwyn Population now sitting at over 73,000 and rising, we know that around 27% of that population is aged 0-18: that’s a lot of tamariki and rangitahi being parented in a region that does not boast a fraction of the services provided in the city. Therefore the role of our organisation is to see that ease of accessible resources, supports and signposting to community organisations/ service providers is given so that these families do not miss out. Our pilot Selwyn Parenting Week event in May was hugely popular and saw us host a range of in-person, digital and hybrid events so that we could literally reach hundreds of interested parents, caregivers and families. We partnered with various local services providers, agencies and industry professionals to bring 17 events to the region. This collaborative approach provided a ‘win-win-win’ community model: one where we got to showcase who is out there in Canterbury to directly help parents and caregivers, whilst also showcasing our recognised service providers, NGOs, and community organisations that are right here making collective impact in Selwyn. We also got to highlight the pivotal and evolving work that Selwyn Parenting Network is doing to help strengthen each and every family unit in the region. We beleive that parents and caregivers of ALL ages; regardless of demographic or circumstance; whether in one of Selwyns towns or out in the rural community, should be able to easily access empowering and educative resources, and our signposting model of service along with flagship events and campaigns allows this to happen. e also bring to the region: Children's Day and Family Fun Day. This year our pilot saw us bring no less than 16 different events together as part of Selwyn Parenting Week, including a showcase event where we partnered with our Selwyn Police Senior Youth Officer, Selwyn Family Harm Officer, a Clinical Psychologist, the Child Behaviour Service and a High School Principal: Parents got to ask the tough questions and gain valuable, reliable and accurate advice directly from those who truly know how to best handle some of the toughest of parenting struggles. It was awe inspiring and something we realise we must continue to do as many challenges face parents who are the first to be parenting in this digital era, and during a global pandemic which has brought insecurities, anxieties and many stresses to families from all walks of life. With your help, your funding would secure the ability to secure Selwyn Parenting Week 2023 so that we can start planning for our Parents, Caregivers and Families in the region to have another dedicated week of events: offering the latest free resources and bringing collective community impact to the fore, to in turn empower those parents and caregivers… Our next goal is to secure the unding to roll out Selwyn Parenting Week as an annual event; one where we continue to collaborate within the community including with our schools, and pre-schools, and of course with our key providers and agencies. It is this collaborative and connected approach to Selwyn Parenting Week that breeds the success of our endeavours and this years pilot proved that.