Bear Cottage, located in Manly on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, provides respite and end-of-life care to children with life-limiting conditions and support to their families. It is the only children’s hospice in NSW and provides a range of specialised therapies that are delivered in ways that allow children and families to feel at home.
Since 2010, the Ottomin Foundation has funded the Music Therapist position at Bear Cottage, as well as the cost of many instruments and equipment used in the music therapy sessions. In 2013, the Foundation gifted funds for the creation of a music garden. The Music Therapy Program gives the child, parents and friends the opportunity to communicate their love, sadness, respect, and happiness through a non-verbal environment and is especially important when the children are unable to express themselves through speech.
The Foundation is a regular sponsor of the A Bear Affair, a black-tie charity fundraising event held annually for Bear Cottage. Support has also been additionally extended through Charity Committee member, Jennie Kovacs’, involvement as a regular volunteer at the Bear Cottage hospice.
Visit Bear Cottage at www.bearcottage.chw.edu.au
