Parents Centre needs a boost

The Parents Centre Committee on one of their regular outings together.

The Taupō Parents Centre is struggling to remain open despite helping hundreds of new parents each year.

 By Dan Hutchinson

President Steph Weston says they are in ‘dire straits” because of a lack of volunteers.

Coordinator Brooke Palmer says the nature of the group is such that children grow and people move on, so they need to be regularly refreshing the core volunteer group.

They offer antenatal classes, Baby and You classes, a car seat service and other support.

There is funding for the specific services and classes they coordinate, but the core committee that coordinates everything is made up of volunteers.

“If we don’t find some new volunteers, we will have to close and TPC has been around for years,” Steph says.

“We managed to survive national Parents Centre closure last year but now we’re looking down the barrel of the same demise. 

“We’ve helped thousands of women connect to each other and make lifelong friends. We provide support for new mums stuck in the trenches who think they are the only one suffering through sleepless nights.”

Brooke says being on the committee is not a big job if it is shared around and there is the benefit of the social side of things and being around other parents who are raising young children.

To get involved, email taupopc@gmail.com.