From the commencement of business, babybuds have made a strong committment to charities.  The main charities supported by
babybuds are Exodus Foundation, The Children's Medical Research Institute and The Cancer Council.

Charmaine saw the benefits of Australia's commitment to charities as a lawyer involved in pro bono work and has been committed to
ensuring babybuds also takes initiative in assisting Australian charities.  The wide ranging benefits have been passed down to her team
at babybuds who are now actively involved in participating on a regular basis.  We will continue to support these charities in line with the
growth of our business.  Donations to these charities can also be made instead of or in addition to a baby gift at the time of gift giving. 

	Exodus Foundation  babybuds have donated over 300 (70-80 p.a.) gift baskets to the Exodus Foundation Christmas appeal.  We have done this through the generous donations of suppliers, staff donating gifts and babybuds products.  Each year for the Exodus Foundation Christmas Appeal, babybuds staff donate their time to giftwrap up to 80 giftpacks of baby clothing, toys and products for the newborn.  The Exodus Foundation came into being in 1986 when Rev. Bill Crews was ordained as the Uniting Church minister for the Ashfield Parish Mission. Rev. Crews immediately opened the doors of his church to Sydney, and once the doors were open, the need of the community became tragically apparent.  Homeless kids came to sleep on the church pews at night, hungry people came to share in the meals that Rev Crews provided. From the beginning the Exodus Foundation grew to become one of the city's most imporant welfare organisations.  It is also a high profile part of the Uniting Church of Australia. The Exodus Foundation exists to meet the immediate maternial, emotional and spiritual needs of disadvantaged and marginalised people.  "We seek to empower young Australian through education and literacy and so protect them against the prospect of future unemployment and homelessness.  Our ministry is primarily to those who are outsiders - the poor and the dispossessed, and those who feel "a church" would not ordinarily welcome them.  This ministry is rooted in a worshipping congregation - a congregation that maintains the life of worship, pastoral care and the sacrament." Mark and Charmaine were married by Bill Crews, who also christened their son, Alex. Tutorial Centre successes According to Prof. Kevin Weldall, architect of the literacy programme in our Tutorial school, "literacy is fundamental to everything else".  This philosophy is lived out by the students whose lives are transformed by our school.  To date every child in our Tutorial school programme has made significant improvements in their reading and writing skills.  Their lives, in many cases, have been turned around.  The Exodus Foundation Tutorial school has phenomenal success on a daily basis. Jim 12 year-old Jim came from a troubled family.  We was under psychiatric care.  When he first arrived at the Exodus Foundation Tutorial school, he had a reading age of 5 years, but thanks to our remarkable literacy programmes we raised his reading age to 9.5 years.  Soon after he won a scholarship to an influential country boarding school.  The following year, Jim topped his year in mathematics and art.  For more success stories, go to www.billcrews.com.au. Click here to make a donation to Exodus Foundation
	Children’s Medical Research Institute babybuds also donates 20% of sales made by CMRI members. These funds go direcftly to the organisation who are at the forefront of research for children's illnesses. The Children's Medical Research Institute conducts fundamental genetic research to understand the genes important for health and development, and the underlying cause of disease.  One in twenty children born in Australia suffers from some kind of chronic disease or congenital abnormality like cleft palate, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy and cystic fibrosis. By studying the key changes that occur during development we can identify when, where and how faults may occur.  If small problems can be detected at this stage, they could be prevented from becoming big problems or treated to reduce their impact on our children's quality of life.  Our philosophy is that major advances in prevention and treatment comes from research into the fundamental processes of life.  Our work is made possibly by our community of supporters and Jeans for Genes.  This year the CMRI celebrates its 50th anniversary.  For more info go to www.cmri.com.au. Click here to donate to CMRI
	The Cancer Council babybuds feel a personal and emotional attachment to the cause of cancer awareness both from the staff members and Charmaine's own personal experience (her mother died in 2003).  This year in NSW more than 34,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer. The Cancer Council is the leading charity in NSW.  It was established in 1955 by an Act of the NSW Parliament.  An expert and voluntary Board of Directors oversee the business of The Cancer Council. They receive no direct government funding for their various programs but have obtained grants from NSW Health and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for some specific projects.  The bulk of their income is raised through fundraising events and donations from the community  For more info go to www.cancercouncil.com.au. Click here to make a donation to The Cancer Council