Empowered Families, Thriving Children | Whānau mana tū, tamariki ora

Empowered Families, Thriving Children
Whānau mana tū, tamariki ora

Welcome to

Storytime

Foundation

Our whakataukī

He tūāpapa māhorahora e tūtika ai te tamaiti.

A generous foundation for a child to become who they need to.

Storytime Foundation helps to strengthen whānau facing adversity in Aotearoa by supporting the building of bonds between a parent and child.

Early attachment can significantly improve outcomes in life for tamariki and their wider family and is especially important during the first 1000 days.

Reading together is one of the most effective ways to create these bonds and has positive effects on literacy and communication.

Storytime Foundation provides free books, education, and resources to New Zealand’s most vulnerable families in partnership with Well Child Tamariki Ora/Pēpi Ora and Family Start providers, Ministry of Education, and Department of Corrections.

Why our work matters

For families experiencing adverse circumstances, the significant stress and anxiety associated with their situation can affect social development, emotional control, and behaviour.

We know that a strong bond made in the early years between tamariki and a parent/caregiver acts as a protective cloak throughout the child’s life.

Our programmes provide books, education, and tools that help parents facing challenging times to build safe and secure relationships with their tamariki.

books distributed

families assisted

years of service

Building bonds with books

For many whānau around New Zealand it can be challenging to access the knowledge and resources needed to build the bonds of early attachment.

Storytime Foundation’s book-focused programmes provide the tools to help, in turn building more cohesive families and improving social outcomes.

Holding a child close while sharing a story can make them feel safe and loved, with many positive flow-on effects. It can help them to suffer less stress, understand and process their environment better, and do better at school. It can also help to reduce parents’ stress and impact positively on the wider family unit.

Our goal is for every parent to know the importance of reading and storytelling with their tamariki and for children in Aotearoa to grow up healthy – nurtured in homes rich in language and love.

Our work encompasses four key programmes:

Strong Beginnings for Our Children, Hei Takinga Rangatira mō ngā Tamariki – for whānau experiencing adversity, with new babies to 3-year-olds.

Taonga mō ngā Tamariki – for parents under the care or management of New Zealand Corrections with children aged 0-12.

Child-Centric Visiting – a programme using books and activities to enhance the experience of Visiting Day in prison between the parent and child when visiting with whānau.

Storytime Books – a social enterprise dedicated to publishing books designed to help parents and caregivers build early attachment through reading with their child.

Our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi

At Storytime Foundation we are committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in an ongoing journey of learning through our vision, goals, and everyday practices.

This means connecting with our programme partners and whānau in ways that are authentic, culturally responsive, and mana-enhancing.

We are dedicated to honouring and incorporating tikanga Māori practices in our work and community engagements as we actively learn and deepen our understanding of these traditions. We are committed to respecting mana whenua and integrating these practices in a meaningful way.

Support our work

Storytime Foundation is a registered charitable trust (CC22735) and we rely on donations to fund our work with whānau across New Zealand.

You can support us by donating through Give A Little. All donations over $5 are tax deductible.

We are also proud to have the support of key organisations such as The Tindall Foundation, Todd Foundation, NZ Lotteries, and many more.

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"Nothing is more important to the long-term good of our society than investing in the earliest years of a child’s life. The goal of Storytime Foundation is totally in line with maximising parental involvement during these critical early years."

“The Storytime Foundation programme is a wonderful resource for whānau. The books and activities provide opportunities for quality time and bonding between pēpi, tamariki and caregivers and expand knowledge, vocabulary, writing ability, imagination and creativity.”

“New Zealand’s literacy levels have declined with persistent gaps between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnic groups and genders. Programmes such as Storytime Foundation’s that support and promote reading for pleasure are important for reversing this trend and improving literacy for all New Zealanders.”

“The Storytime Foundation is using evidence to help change the lives of New Zealand’s most disadvantaged children. Research shows that reading to infants makes a lifelong difference to their wellbeing and education outcomes. As evaluators it is rare to see a programme have such a profound impact on child wellbeing and achievement. Our dream would be that we listen to the evidence and extend the programme to enable even more children and whānau to thrive and flourish."

“The importance of reading, and being read aloud to, cannot be underestimated. The Storytime programme is the perfect vehicle to connect parents and children with the pleasure of reading, and creating reading habits and role models. Reading is a doorway, a pathway or escape to other worlds, and Storytime is helping families do this very thing.”