The Hope Collective is an initiative by River’s Gift that works alongside childcare and early learning centres to help share safe sleep education with families in a gentle, approachable way.
We know these conversations can sometimes feel difficult or overwhelming, so the Hope Collective has been designed to make safe sleep learning feel warm, supportive and easy to
engage with – both for educators and families.
Centres who join the Hope Collective become part of a community helping raise awareness of safe sleep and supporting families with trusted information and resources.
At the centre of the program is Finding Hope, a children’s book introducing Hope the Elephant and the River’s Gift story in a soft and engaging way. Each centre also receives their own Hope the Elephant plush toy to become part of the classroom – joining story time, learning activities and everyday routines. In many centres, Hope also gets to travel home with children, helping continue conversations and connection with families beyond the classroom.
Along with books and classroom resources, centres receive access to downloadable posters, social media graphics, family education materials and opportunities to take part in national awareness campaigns throughout the year. Click here to visit our Education Resource Hub.
Our Success So Far
In March 2026, River’s Gift proudly completed the first rollout of The Hope Collective, delivering more than 9,500 copies of Finding Hope to families through 109 childcare and early learning centres across regional and rural Queensland.
Each participating centre received enough books for every enrolled family, a Hope the Elephant classroom companion, posters, educator resources and ongoing support materials to help continue important conversations about infant safe sleep throughout the year.
Together, the program has already reached thousands of Australian families, helping parents and carers access trusted, evidence-based safe sleep information in a gentle, engaging and approachable way.
The response from educators and families has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Our families are absolutely loving the Finding Hope book—it’s already started to spark conversations around children’s sleep that wouldn’t normally happen, which has been fantastic to see. We really appreciate the work you’re doing. Please keep it up – we love it!”
– Cassie Nelson, Centre Manager, Mount Sheridan Early Education Centre
The Hope Collective is about creating connection, building confidence and providing families and carers with trusted, safe sleep education.
This remarkable success has demonstrated the power of partnering with childcare centres to reach families with life-saving safe sleep education. With your support, we can now expand The Hope Collective to communities across Victoria and, ultimately, throughout Australia.
Help Us Bring Hope to More Families
The success of The Hope Collective has shown just how powerful community partnerships can be. Together with childcare centres, educators and supporters, we’ve already reached thousands of Australian families with trusted, evidence-based safe sleep education.
But there are many more families who could benefit.
We’re now expanding The Hope Collective across Geelong and regional Victoria, with plans to continue the program throughout Australia. To achieve this, we’re seeking the support of businesses, philanthropic trusts, community organisations and generous benefactors who share our vision of giving every baby the safest possible start to life.
Your partnership will help place Finding Hope books into the hands of families, provide Hope the Elephant classroom companions to childcare centres, develop educational resources and ensure more parents receive life-saving safe sleep information in a gentle, engaging and accessible way.
Whether you’d like to sponsor an entire region, support a local community, or help us expand the Hope Collective nationally, we’d love to talk with you.
To request a Hope Collective Sponsorship Proposal or discuss partnership opportunities, please contact Karl Waddell at kwaddell@riversgift.org
Become a Hope Collective Partner
Our Hope Collective Partners
The Hope Collective is made possible through the generosity of organisations that believe every family deserves access to trusted, evidence-based safe sleep education.
Queensland
We are incredibly grateful to the Gympie Music Muster and APT Transport for making the successful rollout of the Hope Collective across regional and rural Queensland possible. Their support enabled us to deliver more than 9,500 copies of Finding Hope and educational resources to 109 childcare and early learning centres, helping thousands of Australian families access life-saving safe sleep information.
Program Partner
Logistics Partner 
Geelong
Following the success of our Queensland rollout, the Hope Collective is now expanding across Geelong.
Thanks to the generous support of our partners, thousands more Finding Hope books, Hope the Elephant classroom companions and educational resources will soon be delivered to childcare and early learning centres throughout the region, helping more families access trusted, evidence-based safe sleep education.
We gratefully acknowledge the organisations below for helping make this next stage of the Hope Collective possible.
Regional Partner
Regional Victoria
New South Wales
Tasmania
Together, we can ensure more Australian families have access to trusted safe sleep education.
Request a Sponsorship Proposal
Join the Hope Collective
Are you a childcare centre or early learning service interested in becoming part of the Hope Collective?
We’d love to hear from you. Register your interest today and we’ll be in touch when the program becomes available in your region.
