Empathy and personal experience was the catalyst of Uniity

Uniity began with a simple idea that was spurred into existence by empathy and personal experience.

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One unassuming Tuesday afternoon,  co-founder Adrianna Pearce was walking around her neighbourhood with her new born baby. She walked past an Italian Nonna in her garden and had an urge to go up to her and have a coffee and chat and show off her baby. Adrianna’s grandma had passed away a week before the birth of her son, so she was missing that relationship in her life. She didn’t intrude on a stranger that day, but she got thinking about how many people there might be at home alone in her street and how nice it would be to somehow connect people, especially new parents, that may not have family support near-by.  

 

Fast forward a few years, and the simple idea took form, as an application in the Office for Ageing Well “Creating Better Neighbourhoods Challenge”. This "challenge" was seeking new and innovative ideas to connect people in neighbourhoods. Through this process and the stars aligning, Adrianna met Marigold White, the other co-founder of Uniity.

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Marigold immediately related to Adrianna’s idea. As a new migrant to Australia in the early 1990s she missed her older kin back in Ireland, especially after the birth of her first child. She was fortunate to connect with an older lady (Fran) with whom she developed a life-long, mutually enriching friendship. Marigold’s children also benefitted greatly in having a grandmother figure in their lives. When Fran became less mobile, she and Marigold drew on their long-standing friendship, love of family, and shared  experiences to fuel their conversations. Marigold was also able to help Fran’s daughters with medical visits. Marigold and Fran shared a very special intergenerational friendship - the sort that Uniity strives to facilitate. 

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As finalists in the Office for Ageing Well - Creating Better Neighbourhoods: Innovation in Ageing Challenge (April 2018), Uniity was awarded a 12-month mentorship with The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI). In October 2020 Uniity was awarded an Australia Post Community Grant. In 2022 Uniity was lucky to receive a Positive Ageing Fellowship Grant, from the Office of Ageing Well (SA Health). In 2022 Marigold White was a nominee in the Australian of the Year Awards as a Local Hero for SA, by the Australia Day Council.