Thanks to a generous grant from the James N. Kirby Foundation, young people receiving care at the Manly Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice (AYAH) will now have the tools they need to create lasting memories through art and storytelling.
The $13,857 grant will help fund My Legacy, an innovative program that gives adolescents and young adults the opportunity to create keepsakes for family and friends. From digital storytelling using video and audio to hands-on art therapy with a pottery wheel and kiln, My Legacy encourages self-expression and connection during the most difficult of times.
“It is an honour to be able to help adolescents and young adults create lasting legacies through music and art-making.”
Creativity as comfort
Legacy-making is known to ease anxiety, strengthen connection, and affirm identity for people with life-limiting conditions. For the young people at AYAH, the opportunity to create something beautiful and enduring offers a powerful way to process their experience and to share it with the people they love.
“Being faced with such challenging times, it is important that AYAH families have the opportunity to spend meaningful time together. With this grant, we hope to further our support of families in creating tangible reminders of their love and connection.”
Behind the scenes of every grant
“Grants from trusts and foundations and other community partners play an important role in enabling the NORTH Foundation to support the amazing work being done across the district,” said Natalea Iskra, Trusts & Foundations Officer at the NORTH Foundation.
“It was a delight to receive the news that our application to the James N. Kirby Foundation was successful – the grant will go a long way towards enriching the lives of patients and their families at AYAH.”
With heartfelt thanks to the James N. Kirby Foundation, the NORTH Foundation and AYAH team are excited to see the artworks, stories and memories that will be created – expressions of resilience, creativity and the enduring human spirit.
Supporting Young Lives and Lasting Legacies
These creative legacies form just one part of the specialised, holistic support offered at the Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice – Australia’s first dedicated inpatient facility for young people aged 16 to 30 with life-limiting illness. AYAH provides complex care in a home-like environment, easing the burden for families and offering respite, bereavement resources and meaningful ways to navigate this heartbreaking time – from grief counselling and memory -making activities to thoughtfully curated care packages. With your help, AYAH can continue to provide these small but powerful gestures when they’re needed most.
Donate today to honour a young life and bring comfort to loved ones.
To learn more about how you can support meaningful programs across the NSLHD, or to connect about future funding opportunities, please contact the NORTH Foundation.
