We help bring joy to kids who care for a family member

CaringKids Home

Lions in Support of CaringKids Charity

At the recent National Lions Multiple District Convention at the Gold Coast the ‘Lions in Support of CaringKids Charity’ project was adopted nationally from 2023-2026.

Lions Clubs across Australia will be bringing more joy to young carers by supporting this project. Lions Clubs across cities and towns are donating funds to create Joy Boxes and raise awareness of young carers.

CaringKids Video

CaringKids YouTube Video

CaringKids YouTube Video

We Are Looking For More Volunteers

We love our volunteers, check out our current positions on: Seek Volunteer.

Who We Are

1 in 10 children in Australia have taken on caring for a family member with a disability. These adult responsibilities mean they often miss out on many of the joys of childhood that most kids take for granted.

CaringKids is a registered charity that recognises the role of these young carers and works to reduce their feelings of loneliness and social isolation, by sending them Toy Boxes, we like to call them Joy Boxes, packed with toys, games and books.

We are governed by a voluntary Board of Directors, and supported by a team of dedicated volunteers. CaringKids is supported by community fundraising, local grants and in-kind donations, such as toy storage and equipment.

Individuals, community and corporate groups collect and donate new toys, games, stationery, art and craft materials and sports equipment on our behalf. We use these to create the Toy Boxes that we deliver to young carers across Australia.

Watch the CuppaTV Westfield Local Hero interview featuring CaringKids.

Support Our Cause

CaringKids helps children burdened with adult responsibilities. These young carers take on tasks such as housework, shopping, cooking, dealing with health professionals and even taking on financial matters.

In order to look after a family member, young carers put caring before study, school and play time. They often have to cope with the financial hardship that goes hand in hand with the cost of caring for a family member living with a disability.

There are over 235,000 children and teenagers in Australia caring for a disabled or chronically ill family member. On average they spend 6 hours a week on caring duties.

Because of their caring commitments, 22% of young carers miss a day of school per week. As a result they are around 1.5 years behind in NAPLAN.

Give to connect Joy Boxes to  young carers. Donations over $2 are tax-deductible.

CaringKids Toy Boxes

We help to bring joy to children caring for a family member living with a disability by delivering Toy Boxes to young carers. Our Joy Boxes are packed with toys, games and books that not only bring joy, but also allow children to learn and grow.

Just a few dollars can help put a smile on a child’s face.

If you would like young carers to experience the fun and carefree moments that we associate with childhood,  a tax-deductible donation of $75 will deliver a Toy Box to a child caring for a family member.

Our Toy Boxes are delivered to the doorstep of young carers across Australia.

September 19 at 4:52pm
View on Facebook

🧸 Would you like to help us include toys as cute as this in our Joy Boxes??

🎄 Have you been thinking about a simple, fun way to set up a Christmas CaringKids toy drive at your… See more

🧸 Would you like to help us include toys as cute as this in our Joy Boxes??

🎄 Have you been thinking about a simple, fun way to set up a Christmas CaringKids toy drive at your workplace this year?

🛍️ It’s so easy! Host an online toy drive at your workplace using your very own company page created by Simply Giving – from anywhere in Australia!

🛒 Your colleagues can choose from thousands of quality toys to donate and they will receive a tax-deductible gift receipt

🚚 Toys are delivered directly to CaringKids, saving time and resources

👍 Sounds great? What next? DM us your email address and details and we can and get you signed-up to bring joy to young carers this Christmas

🧑‍🎄 We would love to hear from you!

September 19 at 4:15pm
View on Facebook
September 17 at 9:47am
View on Facebook

People and their stories make the soul of a city.

Come see CaringKids founder Margaret Skagias and other Sydneysiders on the catwalk on the Sydney Opera House forecourt with… See more

People and their stories make the soul of a city.

Come see CaringKids founder Margaret Skagias and other Sydneysiders on the catwalk on the Sydney Opera House forecourt with live music and projections on 1 October at ‘What Is the City But the People’ a free event kicking off the Opera House’s 50th Birthday Festival.

Book your free ticket now at:

https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/events/book-now/237934/0

August 31 at 5:55pm
View on Facebook

💌 Parents of young carers send us many messages of thanks each month when they find out a Joy Box is on the way….

📣 We love to receive your messages! Here are messages that… See more

💌 Parents of young carers send us many messages of thanks each month when they find out a Joy Box is on the way….

📣 We love to receive your messages! Here are messages that have hit our inbox this month:

“We appreciate the support and kindness you have given us ☺️”.

“Thank you so much. He will be so thrilled when it arrives!”

“Dear Margaret and the CaringKids Team, Thank you so much for such a great initiative and for supporting young carers!”

“She will be absolutely over the moon when she receives her Joy Box. Thanks again”.

“Dear Margaret and Team,
Thank you so much, what a wonderful thing for my daughter to receive!”

“Hello, how wonderful is this, you are doing an incredible task and may god bless you and protect you. My daughter will love to receive a Joy Box.”

“Hi and thank you for your email,
I can’t wait until my son receives his box. He is going to love it.
Thank you so much 🙂”.

“We really appreciate all the help and support. She will be overjoyed”.

“Thank you so much, your service sounds wonderful”.

“This is wonderful, thank you so much!”

“Thank you very much. He was so happy when I read the email to him and very appreciative. He is such a wonderful little person, this means so much to us.”

“This is amazing. Thank you so much. This will be such a lovely surprise for my boys.”

“Thank you!!”

“Thank you so much for helping me to show my son his efforts in caring for myself and his sister are muchly appreciated”.

“Hi!!! I just want to start off by saying that you’re all all lovely kind people and we are so grateful for this, thank you!!! 💕 You will be making a little boy extremely happy and feel appreciated!”

“Thank you, we kindly appreciate it .”

🧸 To find out more about how we bring joy to young carers and how you can get involved, or help to fill up Toy Workshop with toys, games, sports equipment and school stationery, please visit the link in our bio 💖

August 31 at 8:48am
View on Facebook

🧸 Our Teddy Bear delivery from Korimco has arrived at the Toy Workshop!

🧸Sharing beautiful cuddly toys with young carers like these Teddy Bears, and finding just the right… See more

🧸 Our Teddy Bear delivery from Korimco has arrived at the Toy Workshop!

🧸Sharing beautiful cuddly toys with young carers like these Teddy Bears, and finding just the right Teddy for each child, is important business for us at CaringKids.

🧸Cuddling a Teddy Bear can provide feelings of comfort, security and increase feelings of happiness.

🧸Do you have a favourite or special teddy from your childhood? Maybe you still have them now.

🧸All these beautiful bears will be finding a new home this week, as we pack them into our Joy Boxes to deliver to young carers.

🧸Each year we aim to share 500 Teddy Bear plush toys with children who care for family members living with a disability or serious illness.

🧸If you would like to be part of bringing this kind of joy to young carers, you can help us to keep our Teddy Bear shelves stocked year round.

✅Visit our website and make a tax-deductible donation, or host a fundraiser to donate funds for Teddy Bears at your school or workplace.

https://caringkids.org.au/donations/donate/

🧸Thank you to Gary Clixby at Korimco for helping us to choose the best and bears with the most personality and charm for our young carers!

August 30 at 9:11am
View on Facebook

A big thank you to Jeff Shelley founder of 123Read2Me for supporting CaringKids by sharing boxes of brand new books to fill our Joy Boxes for young carers!

Jeff and Jack visited… See more

A big thank you to Jeff Shelley founder of 123Read2Me for supporting CaringKids by sharing boxes of brand new books to fill our Joy Boxes for young carers!

Jeff and Jack visited our Toy Workshop in June and arranged for DHL to ship us cartons of books. Thank you Jeff and to all the team at 123Read2me.

The Lions network, including the Lions Club of Kings Langley and Lions Club of Lugarno helped to pick up the books and deliver them to us.

We are thrilled to have so many quality books to share with young carers.

Thank you to 123Read2me, DHL, Lions Clubs and Lions Australia for helping us to bring joy to young carers ✨

Load more

Contact Us

Please contact us via the form below.

Join our mailing list to be notified of our upcoming events and latest news. Please untick, if you don't wish to subscribe to our mailing list.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

CaringKids

Caring Kids Incorporated
ABN 82 206 098 661

If you have questions about our Toy Boxes or would like more information about CaringKids, fill in the Contact Us form and we will get in touch with you soon. We welcome Toy Box feedback from children and families, share your feedback here.

Phone/Email Us

Phone: (02) 9247 7990
Email: info@caringkids.org.au

Opening Hours

Hours: By appointment
Closed School Holidays

Toy Workshop

CaringKids Toy Workshop
13-15 Baker Street
Banksmeadow NSW 2019

Postal Address

CaringKids
PO Box 91
Edgecliff NSW 2027