Ted* was missing his little daughter Rose*.
They had a close relationship and were used to seeing each other a lot, but since Ted was incarcerated months earlier, he hadn’t seen or had any contact with her at all.
Ted was anxious to know how she was going, so when another dad told him about the SHINE for Kids Storytime program and how much he’d loved it, Ted jumped at the chance to show her he hadn’t disappeared.
Our Parklea team supported Ted through signing up for Storytime and set about finding Rose.
When she contacted Rose’s case worker, they were relieved to hear from us and find out where Ted was incarcerated.
“Thank you,” they wrote, “this sounds like an amazing program!”.
Rose’s caseworker had also been trying to arrange contact with Ted, but the system is difficult to navigate, and they’d been struggling to find the best way to initiate visits.
Our team is highly knowledgeable about arranging visits, processes, and the safest ways to connect children with their parents, and so, finally, the family was connected.
When the day came to do Ted’s Storytime recording and message, he had it all planned out!
He did an excellent animated reading of the book The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers.
His reading was filled with funny comments and questions for Rose, asking her to point to pictures and share her thoughts on what was happening. Ted’s ability to know precisely how to make the story engaging for his daughter gave a glimpse into their special relationship.
He even planned to make his written message with the story extra special.
Ted wanted every line to be written in a different colour, just like the crayons in the story.
With the help of our team (he thought his writing was too messy!), they crafted a beautiful, colourful message to accompany the storybook.
“Daddy misses you so much and playing with you at the park …
Our painting and drawing using all your favourite colours …
I’d like to know more about you and how you are doing with your swimming classes …
I hope you have been eating lots and getting bigger and stronger …
Be a good girl and have lots of fun at daycare, making new friends and learning new things …
Love you so much, Daddy.”
The final piece of the plan was to write her name in her favourite colour, purple.
When Rose received the package, she was thrilled.
She read it together with her case worker, and they took some photos with her and the storybook as she wanted to show her dad how much she loved it. And Ted, of course, was over the moon to see the photos with Rose with his gift.
“He was so happy to see Rose enjoying the book!” said our team member, who’d helped facilitate his receiving these beautiful pictures.
“He was very grateful to SHINE for Kids for reconnecting him with his daughter after such a stressful time and giving her a precious gift that would last a lifetime.”
Thank you to our supporters who keep Storytime running through donations.
Please donate today and help us connect families through stories.
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