Our Community Involvement

Bilby Publishing - Special needs resources for Early Literacy, Numeracy, Autism and Signed Communication

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Our Community Involvement and Environmental Responsibility

We are a Social Enterprise !
Bilby Publishing grew from a need for more effective sign language resources, at a more accessable price than those available in 1997 when we first started.

As there were so few resources for children, we were constantly being asked for more resources to support our child's special needs. They just didn't exist so we had to make them.

We recognised that we were not alone, but that like us, young families who have just been through the rigmarole and expense of diagnosis and often very short of funds. Thus Bilby Publishing was formed to address this need in the community, and provide the levels of service that were sadly lacking.

In 2008 we became aware that there was a lack of accessable resources for all special needs children and began expanding our servies to cover this group.

Bilby Publishing is geared to only be marginally profitable, and directors and managers get paid no more than the staff.

We are involved in our Community !
Bilby Publishing is involved in many community initiatives so that we keep in touch with what is needed, and to support those who support us.

We have been sponsors and supporters or the ACT Canberra Childrens (disability) Christmas Party for over 5 years
Supporters of Hearing Awareness Week - giving away hearing Awareness packs and information, including the School education pack which is available free every year from Deafness Forum. We were also Silver Sponsors in 2005
CHIPS (Children with Hearing Impairment Parent Support) - Donation of resources
We donated numerous resources to libraries, parent support and disability resource centers around Australia; including the :
Bookbunker - Childrens library and resource center at the Westmead Children's hospital
Hume Disability Library Service
Deaf Society NSW - Employment Services
Bega Valley Library
Imlay Special needs Support Services
Noah's Arc - Disability Children's Library Service
Royal Institute Deaf Blind Children (RIDBC) - library and remote parent support program.
Victorian College for the Deaf - who we have ongoingly supported for over 10 years and for whom we have also run special fundraisers for.
We have donnated Auslan images to many worthy projects including:
Alice Betterrige School - for use in their newsletter and to produce handouts for parents
DSARI - Disability Studies and Research Institute- on behalf of Disability Services Queensland (DSQ) to develop information for service users and families about the Disability Sector Quality System and the Queensland Disability Services Standards.
Disability Services Queensland - All abilities Playgrounds - We designed and donnated the large information boards that greet visitors to the 17 All ability Playgrounds in Qld...you can read more about this fantastic project at http://www.disability.qld.gov.au/community/all-abilities-playground/
KU Children's Services - for their One centre many languages project
Supporting PCDE (Parent Council for Deaf Children)b> through the donation of resources for their showbags over several years
Helping the Deafness Foundation to raise funds for research into hearing impairment for over 6 years; through selling their badges at cost.
Sponsor/Members of Deafness Forum
Save the Bilby Society - sponsoring sections of the fox proof fence to reduce predation of this threatened species
WIRES (Wildlife Information, Referral and Emergency Service) - Donation of printing and services
EdgeFM - Donation of Website, Printing and Services to local Community Radio Station

We are Environmental Sensitivity
We make a concerted effort to produce our products and run the business with the minimum of environmental impact

Packaging
We carefully consider all our products with a focus on minimising packaging. When it comes time to send your products out, we use the minimum amount of plastic. We use and reuse heavy paper envelopes and cardboard boxes, which come from a renewable resource and are easily recycled. We have never bought polystyrene beads or bubble wrap. If you receive any of these in a pckage from us, it is because we a re-using the packing sent to us.

Printing
When we print products in our printroom, we use enviromentally sensitive products wherever practicable. Our printers are Kyocera "Ecosys" laser printers, known for their lower evironmental footprint thanks to lower consumables. Our paper is currently "Double A" brand which sources it's fibre only from farmed trees, is ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified for quality and environmental management. They also give money to the Breast Cancer Foundation. Products made using this paper include "The Auslan Dictionary for Parents, Professionals and Teachers" (all editions), the "Children's Picture Dictionary" series (all volumes), "Auslan for Your Workplace", "First Aid Booklet" and "Baby Sign for Australians".
Most waste is handled on site. Paper offcuts are composted onsite, while cardboard and coated papers are sent for recycling. Our weekly landfill waste is less than half of a small wheelie bin.

Office
Our office contributes to our environmental commitment by minimising impacts. We rely on rainwater tanks, and heated water is provided by the sun. We use a composting toilet, so no water enters or leaves the site. The office and production/warehouse areas are heavily insulated, with opening windows for fresh air. The office has "solar passive" window shades - letting in the maximum sunlight in winter and shutting it out in summer, minimising the lighting, heating and cooling required. We use high efficiency fluro lights throughout to supplement natural light if required. While we are not yet able to invest in solar power, a proportion of our electricity is certified "Green Power".