Community
28 November, 2025
Rotary needs your help for support kits
THE Rotary Club of Warrnambool, together with Wish Collective, are hoping the generosity of locals will once again shine bright as it appeals for financial assistance to ensure the ongoing success of its pregnancy loss support kits.
These kits, an initiative of Wish Collective, are provided at no cost to individuals and families who experience pregnancy loss - an experience that one in four Australian couples will face.
While emotionally devastating, it is often suffered in silence.
Founded in 2023 by Sarah and Steven Wallace, following their own experience with multiple losses, Wish Collective has become a local beacon of empathy and advocacy.
From their journey grew a powerful commitment: to make sure no one walks through pregnancy loss alone.
This mission continues through a growing partnership with the Rotary Club of Warrnambool, combining lived experience with Rotary’s long-standing service to community.
“We recently sat down with Sarah, who explained the rationale for assembling and distributing the kits across Warrnambool and surrounding districts,” director of service projects with Rotary Warrnambool Tony Austin said.
“Sarah told us how many people leave clinics or hospitals without the complex and tailored support they need to navigate this space.
“Historically, care has been largely absent, with clinical pathways focused on medical management, while emotional needs went unacknowledged. These kits were created to change that.”
Each kit provides essential practical items, clear pathways to support services and meaningful tokens of comfort.
Sarah distributes the kits through local GPs, hospitals, and applicable specialist services across Warrnambool and surrounding towns, ensuring that every person experiencing pregnancy loss is met with care, recognition, and compassion at the very moment they need it most.
Each pregnancy loss support kit contains a thoughtfully curated range of items including a custom A5 resource explaining ‘what to expect’, linking families to local and national support services, practical necessities such as sanitary pads, a notebook and pen for instructions or emotional processing, and links to resources created specifically for partners, including dads, whose grief is often overlooked.
“These are simple items, but at a time when emotions are raw and clarity is scarce, they bring comfort, grounding, and connection to real help,” Tony said.
“The impact has been immediate and profound.”
Just under 200 kits have already been distributed in the first 12 months of the initiative, reinforcing the need for them.
“The responses from recipients speak for themselves; individuals and families felt seen, supported, valued, and understood at a time when they expected none of it.
“Now, with demand increasing across the wider region, preparations are underway to assemble 500 new kits.
“This reflects both the depth of community need and the urgency of ensuring support is available wherever and whenever pregnancy loss occurs.”
It is estimated the 500 kits will cost around $20,000.
“The Rotary Club of Warrnambool has committed significant funding toward this project however, additional support is still needed,” Tony said.
“We are appealing to the people of Warrnambool and surrounding districts to contribute to this initiative. Every dollar donated will go directly to kit components and distribution, no administrative or labour costs, and all assembly is completed by volunteers.”
Tony said each kit costs around $40 to create, meaning even a modest gift provides direct and immediate support to someone experiencing one of life’s hardest moments.
Donations also help fund education and resources for clinicians and nurses.
“In the past, people often left hospitals or clinics without the complex and tailored support they needed to navigate this space.
“Since the launch of these kits, that narrative has changed dramatically and Sarah is contacted regularly by individuals and families sharing how much the kits, and the supportive care that accompanied them, have meant.”
This initiative sits alongside the recently launched Early Loss Memorial Tree, further strengthening the Rotary Club of Warrnambool’s (and the region’s) commitment to acknowledging bereavement care and early loss with the dignity it deserves.
“By supporting this project, you are helping to break the silence around pregnancy loss,” Tony said.
“You are acknowledging grief that is often hidden and you are showing families that their loss matters and that their community stands with them.”
If you’d like to know how you can get involved or show your support simply email wishcollective@outlook.com or warrnamboolrotary@gmail.com.
