Century old child care centre meets cyber age

THE Durban Child & Youth Care Centre, (DCC) which has been caring for children since 1905, recently updated their website, to create an interactive space for their donors and keep their doors open well into the 21st century’s cyber age.

Mount Edgecombe resident, Fiona Furniss has long supported DCC.

“My involvement with them started through the Bright Stars mentorship programme. I got to know the home and they are such an amazing group of people. They are so dedicated and work so hard. I am so full of admiration and I help wherever I can. I also got my church members from St Margaret’s in Glenashley involved. We provide birthday cakes or cupcakes for each child on their birthday,” she said.

Community support like this is what has made the organisation one of the longest standing child care NPOs in Durban said DCC director, Mandy Goble.

“There is no doubt that the only reason we are still in existence is because of the generosity of the community of Durban. Without their support, we would have had to close our doors years ago. Times are tough, financially, for many people, but it’s amazing how the community seems to open their hearts even at the toughest times. It’s always been amazing for me to see,” she added.

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Keeping up with the times is vital for NPOs said Goble.

“Over the past few years, we have had to look at improving our fundraising reach, and improving our strategies to create awareness around who we are, what our services are and what our needs are. We realised the website had become very outdated and we needed to upgrade that. Because the social media scene changes often, we made some changes within our staff structure, so we have a full time fundraiser and an administrator to assist around that. We realised we needed something that was more interactive, something that was going to bring people back so they could feel a sense of involvement beyond simply visiting a website. Those that are choosing to support the work will be able to actively see how we use those funds for the benefit of children,” she said. 

While the festive season is around the corner, Goble said DCH’s Christmas preparations have all been made and they are now concentrating on raising funds for the back to school period in January.

“The children who receive services from us are here on court order. Part of our responsibility, and really, the core focus of our work is to reunify the children with their family and community. So, we already have started placing children back with their families for the holiday period.  A lot of the preparation for Christmas gifts has already happened. In addition to that we have a group of children who will remain with us. We ensure they have a present to open on Christmas and a nice Christmas lunch,” she said.

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As 2020 approaches, DCC will bid farewell to some children and welcome others.

“We will have 20 new children joining us, because 20 are leaving. Our greatest needs now are assistance with stationery and new school uniforms for next year,” said Goble.

Check out the new website: www.dch.org.

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