CanDo4Kids is

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

's oldest charity and works directly with

children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

and

young adults In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

with sensory impairment disabilities, such as

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

and

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is writte ...

, by focusing on what children "can do" and helping them to reach their full potential. Formerly known as Townsend House, the charity was founded in 1874 by

William Townsend William Townsend may refer to: * William Townsend (mayor) (1821–1882), Australian politician * William Townsend (cricketer) (1821–1891), English cricketer and barrister * William Townsend (Oneida County, NY) (1848–1919), New York politician * ...

MP.

History

Founded in 1874 as the South Australian Institution for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb (Inc.) by William Townsend, later changed to Townsend House, the charity opened its doors to five blind and two deaf students. William Townsend, the founder, after two terms in office as

Mayor of Adelaide This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Adelaide, a Local government in Australia, local government area of South Australia. The first local government in Australia was formed on 31 October 1840 with the election of ninet ...

, set about fulfilling his ambition to establish a "Blind Asylum in the City of Adelaide". He was the chairman of its committee from 1875 until his death in 1882.

Dean Jaensch Dean Harold Jaensch (27 October 1936 – 17 January 2022) was an Australian political scientist and a Professor of Political and International Studies at The Flinders University of South Australia. Jaensch was awarded a Bachelor of Arts (H ...

,
Townsend, William (1821–1882)
',

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 6,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

, 1976, pp. 296–297. Funds were raised by public subscription. The building, located in the southern suburb of

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, was commissioned by Townsend and designed in

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

by noted architect (also a mayor of Adelaide and parliamentarian) Thomas English. It was built in 1878 as the South Australian Institution for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb, Brighton, later renamed Townsend House. It is

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

. In 1970, the Townsend House Schools for Deaf and Blind Children were divided into a state government-run day school called South Australian Schools for Deaf and Blind Children, and a residential home called Townsend House for Deaf and Blind Children. The home was run by a private committee, and provided residential care for vision and hearing impaired children until 1999, when it closed.. In 2019, the Cora Barclay Centre merged with Can:Do 4Kids, Townsend House, continuing their services as a specialist program.

Services

CanDo4Kids offers services to children and young adults including:

speech pathology Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

, early intervention,

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT), also known as ergotherapy, is a healthcare profession. Ergotherapy is derived from the Greek wiktionary:ergon, ergon which is allied to work, to act and to be active. Occupational therapy is based on the assumption t ...

, family support,

assistive technology Assistive technology (AT) is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for Disability, people with disabilities and the elderly. Disabled people often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, ...

youth work Youth work is a community support activity aimed at older children and adolescents. Depending upon the culture and the community, different services and institutions may exist for this purpose. In general, it provides an environment where young pe ...

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

auditory processing disorder Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting the way the brain processes sounds. Individuals with APD usually have normal structure and function of the ear, but cannot process the information they hear in the s ...

intervention, auditory verbal therapy,

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

programs and

counselling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of c ...

. All services are provided free of charge to children and young adults who are

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

, blind or who have a

sensory impairment Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...

. CanDo4Kids works with children and young adults up to 25 years and their families. Funding for CanDo4Kids is raised through

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

donations A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...

bequest A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

lotteries A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

, events and

property development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to oth ...

, with 30 per cent of overall funding coming from the Government. CanDo4Kids is an affiliated with Charity Direct, an organisation that promotes ethical fund raising behaviour. CanDo4Kids has clinics at

Colonnades Shopping Centre Colonnades Shopping Centre is a shopping centre in Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the suburb of Noarlunga Centre, on a large allotment of land with access from Goldsmith Drive, Beach Road and Burgess Road. It is the second largest ...

at Noarlunga and on Port Road at Hindmarsh.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cando4kids Organizations established in 1874 Medical and health organisations based in South Australia Organisations based in Adelaide Blindness organisations in Australia Children's charities based in Australia Deafness charities Blindness charities 1874 establishments in Australia Disability organisations based in Australia