SDN Redfern celebrates 85 years of community spirit

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider SDN Redfern recently held a celebration in honour of its 85th anniversary of supporting the community of Redfern in Sydney’s inner South.

 

SDN established its presence in Redfern on 20 June 1938, and moved to its current location in 1980. In its present state, the centre includes a large community room on-site, which is funded by the NSW Government, in which the SDN Children’s Therapies staff work one-on-one with children and educators.

 

The celebration brought together families, SDN Board members, staff, politicians, and the local Redfern community, and was fittingly held during NAIDOC Week to commemorate SDN’s strong links to the Redfern community.

 

SDN CEO Kay Turner delivered an Acknowledgement of Country and spoke directly to the children about living on Gadigal land and the crucial role played by elders in the community, in line with this year’s NAIDOC theme of “For our Elders”.

 

Special guests included NSW MP and Member for Newtown Jenny Leong and supporter Helen Kirby from the James N Kirby Foundation. 

 

Ms Leong expressed her gratitude to the incredible educators and teachers at the centre and spoke fondly about her own time at the centre as a parent of an SDN Redfern graduate.

 

“In our house, we refer to SDN Redfern as ‘the Redfern Centre’ because my daughter used to come here when she was little. Every day my daughter used to do a lovely Acknowledgement to Country where she would touch the ground and the sky,” Ms Leong recalled.

 

Children presented Ms Leong and Ms Kirby with framed pictures to commemorate the special day, one of which featured a chocolate cake adorned with 85 candles.

 

The next SDN birthday celebration will be held in honour of SDN Owl’s House Kingsford at the University of NSW on 22 September 2023.

 

To learn more about SDN Redfern’s rich history, please click here. Image shows SDN supporter Helen Kirby, CEO Kay Turner, NSW State MP Jenny Leong, Member for Newtown doing the
honours and cutting the cake.