Next year is a big year for me, my job title will change, my day-to day routine as I know it will change and new friends will be made. Next year, I will become, wait for it…a school mum!

My little baby-no-more Aston, my first born, will start grade prep and this will be the beginning of endless possibilities for him. He will learn lots of new things and the biggest opportunity for him will be learning literacy and numeracy skills to set him up for his future. Until now, I like to think I have done a pretty good job in investing my time and teaching him the alphabet, simple spelling, counting up to forty and some simple mathematics.

I was approached by Officeworks to talk about the Wall of Hands initiative from the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF), who is dedicated to raising language, literacy and numeracy standards in Australia. Its mission each year is to raise much needed funds to improve literacy levels in Indigenous communities across the country.

There was no hesitation for me to agree to help Officeworks spread the word about this initiative, as a mother and as someone with some-what of a public voice, it is my duty to use my platform to help children who don’t have the same opportunities as my children.

The message is simple, pop into your local Officeworks store until Friday 30th September and purchase a paper hand for $2 to place on the entrance window of the Officeworks store. This represents you joining the Wall of Hands movement. You can also make a donation at the till or when purchasing something online at Officeworks. With your help, the aim is to raise $100,000 for ALNF and create colourful artwork at every store across the country, reminding people to ‘raise their hand for literacy’.

I took Aston to our local Officeworks in South Yarra and explained to him the importance of giving back and he decided to purchase five $2 hands to help strengthen literacy and numeracy standards for Indigenous children and community (bless!).

As a new school mum, I had a moment where I worried a little about whether I put in enough time with Aston, should I have read to him more? Is he supposed to know how to read yet? Wait, should he be able to write? It was panic stations for a few weeks there, and why is it as a mother, you always question yourself? I soon got some great advice from my aunty Helen who told me that, as parents, we do the best we can and trust in the educational system, something I will learn for myself next year.

To find out more about the Wall of Hands campaign visit,

www.wallofhands.com.au/officeworks2016