Pip Brunn
Pip Brunn is a mother of 6 who has spent her parenting years in Playcentre and believes that all people have gifts, talents and strengths to be valued and nurtured through respectful nurturing relationships.
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Hello and greetings to you all. My name is Pip Brunn, I am a mother of six daughters and have been married to William for 24 years. We have lived in Palmerston North for 17 years.
Our second daughter, Lucy who is 19, has a rare chromosome disorder, complex intellectual differences, and she is profoundly deaf.
Throughout Lucy’s life we have sought to recognise her gifts and to meet her aspirations. While a large focus of our lives has involved Lucy, we value each place in our family that all our children have and believe that all children come with their own gifts, talents and challenges, and that all of these are of equal value.
I have spent all of my parenting years within the Playcentre environment and attribute the skills I have to lifelong learning valued in the Playcentre environment.
Through the years, I have also participated as an active member of The Learning and Behaviour Charitable Trust. Through this work I have advocated for the support of parents and children with specific learning difficulties. This work also involved strategies to promote positive outcomes for children and families.
Most recently I have invited children to come to play at “Pip’s Place” who otherwise may not have friends' houses to play at and their parents are struggling to find appropriate respite and play experiences for their children. I do this free with no expectation of contribution. I have, over the years, come across several families struggling to access support for their children and I have worked with these families to support them to find their voice and also to be their voice.
I believe that the ability to consider a wide range of considerations and aspects as well as practicality in the real world are skills I bring to the Enabling Good Lives' Leadership Group.
I am looking forward to this work and to supporting the implementation of change, not only in the systems, how they are accessed and what they are used for, but also to change the culture of our society to where all persons are valued for their strengths, abilities and aspirations, and that they will be provided with the mechanisms needed to reach their chosen goals.