Our journey
James Swan passed away in 2018 and then it became the Swan Family’s mission to build a charity for those children in the greater Wellington region - who, like James - would benefit from child centred, hands-on therapy.
Art, play, music and sand-tray therapy would have been of great benefit to James in allowing him to understand and process what was happening in his world, and most importantly help him live the best life he could.
Support for siblings, parents and the wider whanau is equally as important during such a journey and having access to this support from professionals without significant cost barriers is the ultimate goal of The Swan Nest.
Discussions surrounding setting up the Swan Nest continued until late 2019, and in February 2020 the James Swan Charitable Trust became an incorporated charity in New Zealand.
Trading as The Swan Nest, the doors opened to Music Therapy in 2021 and continues today from The Collective Community Hub in Johnsonville. In 2022 we are hoping to expand Music Therapy into The Hutt Valley.
As we continue to establish and grow our charity, we will be utilising community facilities to provide free music therapy and subsidised other therapies to all families who meet our criteria.
The ultimate goal is to have a house that will be a home away from home for Swan Nest Families. We aim to provide the necessary individual support, therapy and tools required to live in this world while experiencing complex health conditions or terminal illness.
As our nest facilities grow and establish, we will be providing a mobile service, starting with a focus on advocacy.
Watch this space and follow our journey as we develop what we consider Wellington's most wholesome, loving and nurturing children's charity.
You are not alone
For children and their families who are living with a life limiting illness, each day can be like swimming upstream; each wakeful moment requires strength, courage and resilience. This can become overwhelming and the importance of knowing you are not alone on this journey is key.
What can you bring to the nest?
We are looking for like-minded people willing to help grow our nest. Your contributions - big or small - have the potential to influence and nurture the lives of many children and families in need. Build, gift, donate, and become a friend today.
Kote Ahurei o te tamaiti
Aroha o tātau mahi
Let the uniqueness of the child
Guide our work
Our values
Respect
Together we nurture and model respect. We honour the beliefs and rights of our families, children and staff, as well as any external organisations and their people.
Collaboration
Working as a team is key to ensure the best possible outcomes for the child and their family. We believe in working alongside external organisations and medical professionals to benefit both the child and their whanau.
Transparency
Ensuring transparent reporting to stakeholders and supporters is fundamental. We strive to show clear fundraising goals, progress, cost effective business practice and overall transparency with what our service provides for children and their families.
Compassion
Our nest endeavours to understand the journey each child and their family are on. We recognise that living with a life limiting complex health condition can be exhausting and we are here to provide compassionate support to the whole whanau.
Diversity
In order to respect each child and their family’s journey as unique to them, our nest embraces the differences of each whanau and works together as a team to provide compassionate support with dignity and acceptance.
Child focused
Our nest will help provide tools for the child and their family on every step of their journey. Every child has a voice, and it is that voice that holds the heart and centre of what we do. The nest recognises the differences in needs for each child and strives to provide foundation for this to grow.
Warmth
In order to provide the best facility possible, our team believes having a warm, loving environment is at the centre of it. Providing a facility where children have a sense of belonging, feel special and loved by everyone is what our nest fosters. It is every child’s right to have their needs addressed, experience joy, have their abilities recognised and to be heard and loved. We put children at the heart of everything we do.